What Should Have Been
by PastaDayAndNight
Summary: England and Austria are on a mission to right the wrongs and bring their world to a happy ending. And what better time to do it than now, when Romano has just lost his memory and is struggling to understand himself? But will bringing the Italians and Liechtenstein together help solve their problems or cause further complications?
1. Lifechanging mistakes

**"Oh wow! That was fast!" Quoted from my own mind. I'm actually very surprised that it's up this early, but I was in a writing mood today, and this story really makes me interested. So I just had to write! Spur of the moment thing, you see ^^**

Anyway, I hope that my old readers, as long as my new ones, will enjoy this fic as much as the last. And without further ado...

Warning: None. Except for Romano's potty mouth. But it isn't in this chapter. Oh, yes, Romano shall appear in the next chapter, you'll see.

Disclaimer: I realized that I never did a disclaimer for "Darkness and Light". Oh well, here it is now... I own Hetalia. Oh, yes, in my dreams. And in my dreams, I've also met all the Hetalians. And become superior to everyone... Eh heh *day dreaming*

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**What should have been **

**I. Life-changing mistakes**

Rain pounded on the windowsill, and Liechtenstein listened to the sound of gunshots firing through the air.

Her big brother was out on his shooting range again, once more insisting that he needed the practice to protect her. He had said "Liechtenstein, I feel a war coming on, and I need to be well-practiced if I'm to protect us both."

And she'd wondered if he was a psychic.

But really, she worried for her brother. And she knew that she was nothing more than a nuisance to him. She didn't have her own army, and she didn't live in her own place, although she had more than enough money to. She was totally dependent of her brother. And she couldn't do anything to help him.

It was pouring outside.

She still remembered the fateful day that he had found her starved and close to death out in the rain. She had done all she could after that, cutting her hair, taking care of the house, and she'd even practiced with him on the range to make him happy, to show him that she was grateful. But it wasn't enough.

Liechtenstein knew that money was an incredibly important thing to Switzerland, and her living situation with him was only causing him to lose more money. Of course, she wasn't thinking of running away or anything wild like that. She just wondered... maybe if she could find a job working for another nation, just for a while, so she could be of some use to her big brother. She could always return to being Austria's maid, but Switzerland would become enraged if that ever happened. They hated each other. She could also work for Russia along with Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, but truthfully, Russia scared her a lot. She could try America, but she doubted the nation of freedom would take her in. Beside, he was also her friend, and that might prove to raise complications. Germany might work too, but Switzerland wasn't particularly fond of the German nation, either. Come to think of it, her big brother wasn't too fond of anyone, nation or whatnot.

Thunder grumbled in the sky, and Liechtenstein jumped. After taking a moment to calm herself down, she immediately leapt up again and rushed from her room down into the front hall. The rain was coming down harder than ever, and Switzerland was still out on that shooting range. What could he possibly want to achieve in such weather? Pulling on a raincoat, grabbing an umbrella and then slipping into her rubber rain boots, Liechtenstein waddled toward the door and pushed it open.

Rain instantly sprayed in her face, but luckily her blonde hair was protected behind all the heavy coverage. She ducked her head and rounded around the house, careful not to step in any puddles, and continued down the path toward big brother's shooting range.

"Big bruder!" She shouted, but the howling wind carried her voice away. Water sloshed around her boots as she waddled through the large puddles of rainwater. "Big bruder!" She tried once more, stretching on her toes and cupping a hand over her mouth.

Splash!

Liechtenstein barely had time to notice what was happening before she slipped on her own clumsy feet and fell face first into the puddle with a huge splash.

"Nein!" She exclaimed, putting a hand on the muddy ground to push herself up. The other hand clutched tightly at the umbrella. "B-Big bruder! Help me!" She called in distress.

Right after the words left her mouth, strong hands were there to pull her up. Liechtenstein turned slightly to see Switzerland behind her, supporting her weight and taking the umbrella in his own hands. He frowned at her disapprovingly, but she could see the slightest hint of worry in his green eyes.

"Liechtenstein! What are you doing out here in this weather?" Switzerland scolded, setting her upright and opening the umbrella over the both of them. He led her home.

"I could ask you the same thing, big bruder." She giggled, green eyes sparkling.

As expected, Switzerland gave her a stern look. "This is no time for jokes, Liechtenstein. I was just on my way back home. Why did you have to come out here in the rain? You're all wet now!"

A sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry big bruder." She looked down in shame at her empty hands. Switzerland had taken hold of the umbrella and he had his heavy guns strapped to his back as well, and she was just walking empty-handed. "I was just worried about you. I wanted to see if you were doing alright." She shook out her hair, which had been drenched when she fell into the puddle.

Switzerland also gave a massive sigh. "I'm always going to be fine, Liechtenstein. You don't need to worry about me. And what were you thinking going out in this rain just to find me?"

Liechtenstein avoided looking directly at Switzerland, concentrating on making it back to the house without tripping over her own feet instead. She also avoided his question. "Big bruder, you're wet, too. Even more than me. You've been out here for a very long time."

"Well, Liechtenstein. Sometimes practicing in the rain is just another way to challenge yourself." Her brother ended his sentence with a sneeze.

"Big bruder, are you coming down with a cold?"

He shook his head furiously. "Nein! That'll never happen..." Liechtenstein laughed quietly in response.

"Anyway... here we are." He unlocked the door using her key and then led her into the hallway. "I hate September rain." He mumbled under his breath.

"Rain makes the plants grow, Switzerland." She told him, adding an extra smart tease to her voice, and as expected, he cracked a smile and ruffled her hair. And then he made a face.

"Liechtenstein, go shower. You're as wet as a drain pipe rat. And after that, get some sleep, okay? It's late."

"Ja, big bruder!" She set the umbrella near the door to dry, unbuttoned her raincoat, pulled off her boots, and skipped back upstairs into her room. It was still raining cats and dogs, and Liechtenstein felt immediate relaxation as she slipped into her bathtub and dunked her head under the water. The warmth of the water was a definite relief after falling into a dirty puddle of cold rainwater.

After putting on her pink pajamas and bidding goodnight to her brother (who had finished showering before her- no surprise there), Liechtenstein climbed into her bed. And thinking back to her clumsiness out in the rain before, she knew that she should start looking for a job the next day. She would be a nuisance no more.

It was also raining at Austria's house.

But he didn't care, for he was pouring his soul into his music. And frankly, rain kinda made piano music sound better.

Sliding his hands over the keys professionally and closing his eyes in concentration, Austria created beautiful, soothing music. And he was indulged in deep thoughts and about to end his newest composition with a flourish when the door was hurled open.

Slam!

"Austria! I need to talk to you! Stop the music!"

Squeezing his eyes tightly, Austria tried to keep going. But he had already played a wrong note, and his left hand was starting to drag behind. Damn that intruder.

"Austria! Now!" The irritating voice was drawing closer to him. It wasn't Hungary. And Austria was trying to ignore it as much as he could. Where was Hungary, and mainly, her frying pan, when he needed them?

"Austria! I mean it! Stop!" A hand stuck right in front of his face and waved a few sheets of paper back and forth. Finally, Austria could take it no more. He had been playing in the wrong octave, anyway, and now his music was turning into a horrible ear sore.

Lifting his fingers up delicately, he set them down again neatly on his lap and then slowly turned, making a point to give the death glare to the person standing beside him.

"I have something important to tell you." England replied, oblivious to the stare. Instead, he slammed the piano cover down, making Austria wince, and then spread out his sheets of paper on it.

"Who let you in? Surely Hungary couldn't have." Austria kept on glaring, although his eyes were growing tired and it didn't seem to have any effect on England.

"Actually, she did." His British accent sounded smug. "I told her that this had something to do with her precious Chibitalia, who is, in fact, just Italy now. And I also said that you had something to do with it. So naturally, she let me in." He smirked.

"Italy? Oh yes, he's grown up now. He is no longer of my concern, so why am I even involved with him anyway?" Austria stared at the papers. They were making pencil marks on his precious piano.

Thunder rumbled outside.

"Shut up and listen to me." England shoved a paper in front of his face. "Before I explain anything, I want you to understand that there are many alternate universes out there, and I'm going to talk to you about two of them today."

England seemed to be speaking in gibberish. "What?" Austria asked him, wondering if he heard correctly. Universes? What did that have to do with him? And was it important enough to be taking away his valuable time with the piano?

"Just stay with me here, please." England pointed to the paper. "This has something to do with what happened a long time ago. If I do recall correctly, you were in ownership of Chibitalia, Chibi Romano, and Liechtenstein, right?"

"Yes..." Austria narrowed his eyes. "But I let them all go. They belong to others now." He said carefully.

"That is our problem! That was a big mistake you made, mate-y!" England jabbed at the paper, drawing Austria's attention to it. "Study this carefully. This is what should have been if you hadn't let them go."

Austria stared. On the paper was a complicated chart that he couldn't make out. Luckily, England guided him through.

"If you hadn't handed them over to Spain, Germany and Switzerland-"

"Italy joined Germany willingly, England." Austria told the blonde. "Spain took Romano away because he wanted someone to help around the house, but they are equals now. And Liechtenstein was my prized possession, really. She was a princess. But because of the bad economy, she drew away from me and Switzerland found her. So it wasn't like I had any say on that."

"I think we both understand that by now. I'm just saying, if you had kept all three of them... this is what should have happened." He pointed to the first picture. "The three of them would have become close friends. And then they would have broken away from you to gain independence. And Italy..." He pointed to Chibitalia. "... would have felt affection for Liechtenstein, and she would have felt the same. Therefore, the three of them would unite and form a peace treaty."

"W-Wait! Why are you telling me all this? This has nothing to do with me. And how do you even know these things?"

"Black magic." England chuckled. "And keep listening. You'll understand soon enough." He shoved the other paper in front of his face and slammed his hand down on the piano. Another wince from Austria.

"That was the alternate universe. The better one. And this is ours." He pointed to Liechtenstein. "Because you gave Chibi Romano to Spain, Italy isn't as close to his brother as the first universe. And while you had Liechtenstein and Chibitalia at the same time, they never interacted much, Chibitalia being the maid and Liechtenstein being treated like a princess. And when they both left... they hardly even know each other. And Italy isn't even united with his own brother, let alone Liechtenstein. And so... this creates war between the two countries."

"But wait, Liechtenstein's a pretty small country. She wouldn't try to provoke wars. And wars happen often anyway. What is there to really worry about?"

England fumed. "Keep listening!" He pointed at a different picture. "They may be small countries, but they are close to bigger ones. And when they go to war against each other, each will bring out allies from their own sides, thus dividing the world into two. And that would be a big problem, wouldn't it?"

Austria stared at England skeptically. "Don't you think you're overreacting, Britain?" He asked.

"No! Black magic knows all!" He insisted, and shook the papers at Austria.

"Well, if you're correct..." He decided to humor England. "What can I do to keep this from happening?"

England cleared his throat and his eyes darted around the room. "Well, I haven't decided that yet, but I figured you should know about this, since it had been your decision that changed everything."

"So if I can't do anything... why are you even here?" He said irrediculously, staring at England.

"Actually, there is a way to fix it. And I need you to help me. We..." England paused dramatically. "We have to bring the three of them together. Help them became closer to each other, form the treaty, unite, and our work is done!"

"You can't possibly be saying..."

"Yes, yes I am! And I know the perfect opportunity for this! You see, Romano recently hit his head on the pavement in an accident, and Spain is looking for someone to take care of him whenever he has to be away. And..." England raised his eyebrows. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Oh." Austria stared into the distance. Could England possibly be right about all this?

"We're gonna right the wrongs, Austria." England nodded at him, and then crossed his arms, leaning against the piano. "Now let's hear that piece you were playing before, eh?"

"Just because I'm helping you, doesn't mean I tolerate your interruption when I'm playing piano. So... get out!" With those final words, Austria got up from his piano bench, shoved England out the door and called for Hungary to escort him to the front exit. He slammed the door behind himself.

Dealing with England wasn't a good way to fend of stress. His music was the only way. And so, indulging himself in calming thoughts, Austria once more put his hands on the piano. All the plans and everything... they could wait until tomorrow. Or maybe... forever.

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**How was that? Does England's explanation sound clear enough to you? I'm really anxious to see what you have to say about this one...**


	2. Enter Romano The accident

**I just want to say thank you to all my reviewers, old and new! Props to my old reviewers:  
Ayumi Kudou  
Pimp with a chainsaw, aka my "Daddy"  
Liechtenstein's Lover  
Flying mint bunny girl  
Eve of Moonstone  
Sparklingpandas  
WOW  
Eos the Dawn**

**And my new ones:**  
**96bittersweetblackcat**  
**Scotty1609**  
**And the Guest... I don't know who this is.**

**To answer some questions...**

**Liechtenstein's Lover: I did get your summaries, and your Pirate!England and Liech one sounds really good. I may take that idea to write the Pirate!England fic, but it will have to wait until after this story, unless I suddenly feel the urge to write Pirate!England.**

**Flying mint bunny girl: SpaBel sounds interesting... I'll see if it fits into the storyline.**

**WOW: The alternate universe is just a universe where things turn out differently. It's not the 2P universe, don't worry.**

**So, in this chapter, we enter our Romano's mind. Author's note at the end! Enjoy this chapter!**

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**II. Enter Romano- The accident**

He first awoke after his accident to see two men sitting at the foot of his bed. He found that he couldn't recognize where he was, who he was, and who were there next to him. The strange thing was, he hadn't forgotten how to speak or anything, and he remembered perfectly well everything he had been taught about the world. He just couldn't seem to remember anything concerning him personally. There seemed to be a brick wall in his head.

"Where the hell am I?" He demanded, sitting up quickly to glare at the others.

The brown haired one turned to glance at him, but then he quickly turned away. The one with a brown ponytail and a white medical coat didn't even look at him. From what he could hear, they were involved in deep conversation and were simply ignoring him.

"Hey! Hey, you bastards! Answer me!" He hopped down from the bed and angrily stalked toward them.

"Romano! Go back to your bed!" The brunette cast him a worried look, but he simply charged forward. _So my name is Romano... If the bastard's telling the truth._

"Why should I? I bet you're talking about me, aren't you?" He put his hands on his hips stubbornly, glaring down at the two seated men. "I deserve to hear this, too."

The brunette sighed and turned back to the white-coated man. "I apologize, China. Romano's very stubborn."

"It's fine, Spain." China waved his hand dismissively. "I've seen worse, aru. What he has is a case of temporary amnesia. He'll be quite agressive and hotheaded for a while, when he finds that he can't recall his memories. But try to remain with him as much as possible until he gets back his memory, aru."

Lovino stared, but nobody seemed to notice him.

"You say this is temporary, si?" Antonio asked, his eyebrows drawn in worry. "So how long will it take until he gets back his memory?" _How did I even lose my memory in the first place?_

"I can't say for sure, but normally, it takes somewhere around a month or so."

"So, until October, then?"

China shook his head. "Like I said, I'm not sure, aru. This might even turn out to be permanent amnesia, in which case you'll need to help him learn the important parts of himself so he can lead a normal life. So I think you should try to fill him in about himself, just in case this isn't just temporary."

"Si." A long sigh came from Antonio. Lovino glared at the both of them, wondering why they were talking about him like he wasn't even in the room. Hey, he might have lost his memory for some strange reason, but he wasn't deaf or stupid.

"Damn it, bastards! I'm still here, you know." He said pointedly, aiming a finger at the one called 'China'. "If there's anything to be said about me, just say it to my face, will ya?" Add to being annoyed by the way Spain and China were talking, he was also irritated about the fact that everytime he tried to recall something about himself, he came up blank. Did he even know that Spain guy, or had he just found him on the street or something?

"Romano!" Antonio's dark green eyes grew wide. "Apologize for your language!"

"No! Why should I?" He folded his arms across his chest indignantly. "I can say whatever I want! You're not my boss or anything. If I wanted a boss, I would have found myself a s-"

Spain chose that moment to jump up and slap his hand over Romano's mouth, and China muttered something about being immature.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience." Spain quickly apologized, pushing a struggling Romano back to the bed.

"No, it's ok, aru. I'm used to dealing with this kind of attitude. But anyway, I've got to go now, the Allies want a meeting. So, I'll see you again soon to check on Romano's progress?" China gathered his papers and stuck them inside his briefcase, while Romano fumed, but could do nothing against the stronger Spain.

"Oh, si! I'll escort you to the door, then." He got up and led the doctor out of the room, making sure that Romano was still sitting on the bed and made no move to follow, and then closed the door behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Romano jumped up.

He couldn't stay inside this house. It was apparent now that he had lost his memory, and so he couldn't even be sure that the Spain guy was even a nice man. What if he was trying to do something bad to him? His wild, overreactive thoughts urged him to work faster. He couldn't go out the door, because then he'd be spotted. But it'd be easy to jump out the window.

Romano walked over to his window and opened it widely, peering down below. Ok, so maybe it wasn't so easy. He wasn't as low down as he had thought. Slumping into a pile of deflated schemes, he rethought his plans. Romano observed the room carefully, wondering if there was anything that could help him jump down safely. But the only furniture were the bed, a wardrobe against the wall, a mirror stuck on the side of the wardrobe, a bookshelf, a round table and three chairs around it. Oh, and the bowl of tomatoes in the middle of the table.

"Let's see. If I can find some big enough clothes to work as a parachute..." He headed over to the wardrobe and put out a hand to open it, but a figure stopped him. His hand dropped down by his side as he studied his reflection in the mirror.

A person with an olive complexion and forest green eyes stared back. A curl protruded from his dark brown hair, and his eyebrows furied in a deep scowl as Romano frowned at himself and then tore his gaze from the mirror to open the wardrobe.

So that's what he looked like, he thought to himself, as his hands moved quickly through the pile of clothes inside the wardrobe. Coming to the conclusion that there was nothing good enough to break his fall, Romano shut the wardrobe and returned to his spot by the open window. So his name was Romano, and he looked Italian, or at least Southern European-ish. Romano tried to review all the facts that he knew about himself, but his facts were limited to only two. He still didn't know how he came to lose his memory, what kind of person he was before, his history, the people aquaintained with him, and all those stuff. Whenever he tried to grasp at the fuzzy memories, they just faded away until he was left with nothing.

Angry, he leaned out the window once more. He didn't want to have to live while facing that kind of throbbing pain in his head from not knowing who he was. And if jumping down through the window caused him to break his neck, then so be it. Determined look on his face, Romano pushed a chair under the window and proceeded to climbing on it.

"Lovino! What are you doing? Trying to kill yourself?" The door behind him was flung open and Spain rushed over to him. Luckily, Romano hadn't yet decided to jump. He had just discovered his fear of heights.

"Maybe I am." He muttered, but allowed Spain to pull him away, put back the chair, and sit down next to him on the bed.

"Don't try to do that! You scared me to death!" Spain exclaimed, checking him from head to toe like a mother hen crooning over her little chicks. "You heard what the doctor said. You must try to be brave until your memory comes back."

Romano fumed. "How did I even lose my memory anyway?" He retorted, to which Antonio replied with a paling face.

"Bastard! You were the one that caused all this to happen, right? God damn it, don't even try to deny anything! I can see from the look on your face that you caused this! And who the hell is Lovino? I thought my name was Roma-" In his excitement, Romano had leapt up and got his foot tangled with the chair's legs. A loud bang followed as he tripped and hit his head against the bed corner.

"Ah, shit!" He mumbled to himself, oblivious to Spain's frantic words as he jumped down beside him, and fell into deep unconsciousness.

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And now, Romano was waking up once again, but this time he was more aware of his surroundings and he didn't feel so bricked-walled anymore. And he was also alone. Sitting up in bed, he recalled what had happened to him. His memory still hadn't returned, as if he could have just fallen asleep and have it miraculously back to normal again. No, but at least he still knew a little about himself. And, considering the fact that he had nowhere else to go, he decided to listen to Spain and stay for a while. Just until he was level-headed enough to head out and find out more about himself.

The door flung over and Spain rushed in, a delighted look on his face. "Lovino! You're awake!" He held a large tray in his hands.

"Lovino? Isn't my name supposed to be Romano or something?" He instantly gave a scowl.

"I- well, si. But I'll explain everything later." A guilty look came over Antonio, and he put the tray on his table to avoid looking at his eyes. "Right now, eat up! You haven't eaten in days!"

Romano got out of bed and sat down on a chair with a single huff, and stared at the meal suspiciously. Tomato sandwich, tortillas, paella, and a giant pizza.

He surprised himself by remembering the names to all those foods, and for a moment he sat quietly, gawking at the tray. Spain hovered above him.

"Do you not like it? You always liked pizza, and tomato sandwiches, and-" He was cut off as Romano snapped out of his slight reverie and attacked the pizza. And avoided the other samples of food on the tray, and only focused on his pizza. It was completely devoured in less than 5 minutes.

"Wow, Romano! I didn't think you were so hungry! I mean-" Once again, Spain didn't have a chance to finish his sentence as Romano bit a huge bite out of the tomato sandwich. It wasn't as good as pizza, but he was so hungry that it would have to do. Once finished, he cleaned the rest of the tray and then leaned back with a content sigh.

"Hey, that paella was for me!" Spain protested, but when Romano shot him a look, he chuckled. "No, you can have it." He regarded Romano with a thoughtful look that made him instantly uncomfortable.

"You know, you do have a cute side to you. Like when you eat." Spain finally declared cheerfully, but his sentence soon ended in a "oomph" as Romano butted his head into his stomach.

"You're the same old Romano." He chuckled.

"Speaking of that... is my name Romano or Lovino, and are you going to tell me what happened to cause this dickish problem?" He demanded, quickly going back to the subject. He needed to know what had happened to him, and find out more about himself to break the wall inside his mind.

"Well, erm." Spain looked uncomfortable. "It wasn't my fault, really, but we were picking tomatoes from the garden, and one rolled out onto the street, so you chased after it, and, erm." Spain paused hesitantly.

"Continue." Romano said curtly, his expression growing sour.

"So, I, er, chased after you because there was a truck coming and you didn't seem to notice. But then I realized that you did notice and was already getting out of the way. But I was running too fast to stop, and, well..."

"Keep going." He urged.

"And I fell ontop of you. Which resulted in your head hitting against the pavement. And then you were unconscious, and I had to call China, who said he was good at medical stuff, and he said you had amnesia, and then you-"

"That's enough." Romano glared at Spain. "So it was really you?"

"Si." He said quietly, his green eyes growing regretful. "I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me..."

Romano didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he sat still, trying to absorb all the new information.

"Well?" He asked Spain expectantly.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me about myself? History, personality, relationship with others, stuff like that, you know. Or are you too much of an idiot to-"

"Oh, si!" At this, Spain instantly brightened up. "First, about the name business... You're the personification of South Italy, and..." Romano listened as Spain droned on and on, and finally grasped the fact that he represented Romano, the southern part of Italy, had a brother who represented Veneziano, the northern part, and Spain was in fact the country of Spain.

"Where is my brother?" Romano asked, trying to pry more information out of the Spainiard.

"He's staying with Germany." Spain explained. "Your brother is part of the Axis Powers. He broke away from Austria when Holy Roman Empire..."

"Wait, so I haven't broken away from you to live by myself? What's up with that, tomato bastard?" He glared at Spain once more.

"Oh, no. It's not that." Spain laughed. "Austria gave me permission to take you when you were smaller, and you did try to unite with your brother, but because of Turkey and France, you're just staying here with me for now." And then Antonio launched into a detailed explanation about Turkey and France trying to take him over.

"Hey, tomato bastard. What makes you think that I'm going to believe you? You don't just expect me to instantly believe every word you say, do you? Even if I did know you before, what if you're not telling me the truth to try and make me turn bad or something?" He pointed out stubbornly.

Spain looked startled. "I wouldn't try to do that to you." He said sincerely, his green eyes locking on Romano's.

Romano had to turn his head to the side to avoid the uncomfortable gaze. He knew that Spain meant good by trying to take care of him, but a small part of him wanted to escape. He didn't hate the Spainiard; he just didn't fancy staying at his house and waiting for his memory to return. He wanted to go find out more about himself and eventually break free of Spain to live his own life, in case his memory never came back.

Suddenly, a bell rang from somewhere downstairs, thankfully breaking the silence. Spain jumped up, hurriedly fixing his uniform, and turned to Romano. "Austria and England are here. They said they wanted to recommend me something, so... wanna come?" He picked up the plate. "Put on that uniform and then come downstairs."

Romano made a face, but obliged. He pulled on the tan khaki uniform, oogled at himself in the mirror, and then followed Spain through his mansion to greet his guests.

* * *

Austria leaned back against the comfy sofa in Spain's house. Of course, he still thought that England's fool-proof plan was kinda stupid, but he'd agreed to it already. And if the Brit was right, then bringing the three of them together would save them all from the costs and destruction of war. So now he had followed England to Spain's house so they could discuss Romano and convince him to hire Liechtenstein as a maid.

"Ah, hola!" Spain greeted enthusiastically, and Austria glimpsed a smaller figure behind him. He recognized the scowling face as Romano. He didn't seem much different than normal, but Austria detected the lost and confused look in his eyes when he scanned them warily like he had never seen them before.

"Ciao, bastardo." Came Romano's greeting.

Spain chuckled nervously, tugging Romano down on the couch across from Austria and England. Austria frowned disapprovingly, although he was used to Romano's speech. He just wondered what Spain had been teaching him, and what he was thinking when he had given away Romano in the first place. Oh yes, because he wasn't as hardworking as his brother and rather enjoyed making messes everywhere.

"Hello." England grinned, and Austria felt the ghost of a smile creep on his face. He was just going to let England talk to Spain and get this over with.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Spain inquired, cocking his head to the side curiously.

"Ah, well, we heard about Romano's little accident." England started, and Spain blushed guiltily. Austria didn't miss the glare Romano gave to Spain, and he assumed that somehow, the Italian blamed Antonio for his memory loss. It was probably true, though.

"Um, si." Spain replied. "I've sent for a doctor and he mentioned that this is probably only temporary. I told Romano all the information he needed to know about himself, but he doesn't seem to believe me."

Romano threw another cold glare at Spain.

Austria cleared his throat and watched England continue on. "Well, I think that because you'll be busy for a while helping Romano with this amnesia business, wouldn't you need someone to take care of the mansion?"

Spain tilted his head, deeply in thought for a while, and then his eyes lit up. "Sounds like a good idea! That way, I can spend more time helping Romano and when I have to leave for meetings and whatnot, he wouldn't be alone." Austria detected a slight trace of worry for Romano in Spain's voice. He wondered if Spain didn't trust Romano to be alone. But truthfully, if he was in that position, he wouldn't either. Romano had likely developed a scheme in his mind to get away or to turn the place upside down trying to find more about himself. And also, Spain needed to teach him to restrain some of that language.

"I don't need any maid looking after me!" Romano protested angrily.

"Oh, no. The maid will just be looking after the mansion. After all, it _is _a very big place, and I do need some help cleaning everyday, too. Not to mention the cooking. And I'll have to call up a few doctors in the next few weeks to check on you and all that stuff. But she can take care of you too, when I'm not there. You'll have company! And Veneziano will visit soon with Germany, so having a maid around to help will be great! Besides, she'll probably become like a friend to us both!" Spain beamed at Romano.

"I don't want company." He glared at Antonio, and turned his green gaze on England. "And who are you to recommend something so completely ridiculous?"

Austria saw England take a sharp intake of breath, and he remined the Brit quietly that Romano really had lost his memory and didn't recall ever meeting him before.

"Ahem." England made a point to ignore Romano. "As I was saying, Spain, would you like me to help you find a decent maid? I have one in mind." At this, he turned to smirk at Austria. Austria, in turn, stared back at England. Was he really going to suggest Liechtenstein outright like that?

"Si! Sure thing!" Spain cheerfully chirped.

"Of course we'll need a hardworking nation, someone who's also friendly and willing to work. And-" England broke off, a faux gleam in his eyes. "Hey! I know who's best suited for the job!"

"Who is it?" Spain leaned forward, and Austria caught Romano looking the slightest bit interested.

"Austria, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" England gave him a look and tried to draw him into the conversation. "Come on, we rehearsed this this morning, remember?" He whispered.

"Yes, I think you should hire..." Austria paused for dramatic effect, just like England had told him to, although he did sound a bit forceful. "You should hire Liechtenstein."

"Yes! That's exactly what I was thinking!" England chuckled, thanking him with his eyes, and turned back to Spain. "Do you think Lilli will be good for the job?"

Spain looked thoughtful, and then a smile broke out. "Si! She's very hardworking and committed, and she's also friendly. Maybe a bit on the shy side, but she's also obidient and not to mention young and pretty."

"Didn't I tell you that I _do not _need a maid looking after me, you bastard?" Romano snapped. "I'm perfectly fine with taking of myself, thank you very much."

Spain ignored him. "I'm going to visit Liechtenstein's place tomorrow then. I'm going to coax Switzerland in letting me have Liechtenstein for a couple months." He grinned at England and Austria.

Romano screamed.

* * *

That night, after a long and heated argument with Spain about how he could manage by himself, Romano went to bed sulking. He didn't need another nation looking after him. He was perfectly fine by himself. He had amnesia, for God's sake, not a disability or anything. But Spain kept insisting that he needed to _open up _and that a maid would be good around the house and how he hadn't thought about that idea before. The annoying thing was that Spain would keep praising Liechtenstein.

But to tell the truth, Romano also didn't want a maid because he didn't want somebody to order around. He and Spain were perfectly capable of handling things by themselves (although he kept forgetting the way around Spain's giant mansion). Even though he absolutely dispised getting a maid, he knew there was no changing Spain's mind now.

Angry at the Spainiard, who had promised to take care of him until he got back his memory but didn't seem to even listen to him, Romano slammed the door behind him and stalked toward his bed. He stripped out of the uniform and pulled the covers over his head. If only he got his memory back, he would know exactly how to get Spain to listen to him and who the hell Liechtenstein was. But for now, he had to deal.

"It's only for a few months, right?" He told himself, and then slowly fell asleep, clutching onto that faint hope.

* * *

_Romano opened his eyes to see a meadow, completely shadowed by the night, except for the little flickers of candlelight from the corners. Beautiful, magnificent flowers sprang from the ground, and fresh, green leaves blocked his path. They also disguised him quite well, and from his point of view, he could see a pretty little blonde girl with her hair tied in braids, roughly his age, bending down to fix a few of the candles._

_"Ve!" A voice called, and a boy bounded toward her from a hidden path. From behind, Romano noticed that the boy looked slightly similar to him, but he couldn't be sure._

_The girl stood up and twirled around, her sapphire blue dress twirling along. "Do you like my dress? Mr. Austria got it for me!" She giggled, and Romano instantly froze. The girl's sweet, tinkling laugh was the most heavenly sound he had ever heard. And although he couldn't see her face, he knew she must have been very pretty._

_"Ve! You look beautiful, mia bella!" The boy exclaimed, handing the blonde girl a present. "Buon compleanno!" He smiled. "Happy birthday!" His protruding curl bounced. Just like mine does... Romano thought._

_The girl took the wrapped gift carefully and set it on a wooden bench near the side. When she turned back, Romano could see her face clearly. Her green eyes shone in delight, and a natural, rosy blush gave color to her pale face. "Danke." She beamed at him, holding out her hands. "Dance with me? This might be my last birthday here, and... I want to have a good time. Mr. Austria doesn't treat us badly, but I just need my freedom. You understand, right?"_

_"I understand, ve." The boy said, taking her hands in his. "And I'm coming with you. So is Romano."_

_Romano? Me? But I don't even know them!  
_

_"Speaking of which," The girl said, turning toward the path. "Where is Romano?"_

_Just as she finished her sentence, a boy who looked completely like him stalked out from the path. "Here. That bastardo Austria and his annoying wife just took away my stash of tomatoes." He scowled at the ground, and then looked up at the blonde girl and the other boy, hands intertwined, and his eyes immediately dropped down to the ground again. Romano gaped at the boy who looked so much like him, and sounded exactly like him, and scowled exactly like him. He watched as the girl tugged her hand from the other boy's, flustered, and walked toward him –the other him-._

_"Romano? We're leaving soon, so you won't have to worry about that." She said, smiling gently. "And when we're independent, we could become united, your country and mine, and we can create a pact. That way, we'll always have each other's back. We'll be independent, but we'll always remain best friends. And Mr. Austria and Miss Hungary won't be part of our lives anymore."_

_Romano –the other one- looked up, and sighed. "I guess so. Here, it's my present to you." He shoved a little box at the pretty girl while avoiding her eyes. Surprisingly, she accepted it with a smile and put a hand under his chin, lifting his face up to look at her. _

_"Hey, it'll be alright. Just know that whatever we do, we'll always be together. All three of us. Now let's have fun, okay?" She set this present beside the other, and began setting out a neat little picnic on the grass._

_Romano, hiding behind the overgrown green leaves, watched as they ate, chatting happily about their future and independence and other stuff. And he wondered about the other "him". And who were these people?_

He didn't have long to wonder, though, as a piercing noise interrupted his peaceful dream and his eyes fluttered open.

* * *

**Ah, my author's note. I'm going on vacation, and I'll be back on Friday. So the next chapter will probably be up next Saturday or Sunday. Sorry for the long wait!**

SPOILER ALERT: What did you think of Romano's little dream? It was like a little glimpse into 'what should have been', but of course he doesn't know that. Eventually, Liechtenstein and Italy will begin to have these dreams/visions too.

(Also, this is completely irrelevant, but like I said once, does anyone watch the Euro soccer matches? xD Italy beat Germany and is now facing Spain in the finals! I'm praying for my favorite country to win! Of course, this doesn't have anything to do with Hetalia or this story, but I just feel like ranting a bit... Forza Azzurri!)


	3. Playing maid

**I'm back from my vacation with a brand new chapter! Ta da!**

**Anyway, before we get to the chapter... let's answer some questions:**

**Liechtenstein's lover: The Pirate!England idea sounded really interesting, and I'm glad that I could please my loyal reader 8D It hasn't been all planned out yet, but I'll definitely put more thought into it after this fic.**

**Flying mint bunny girl: Now that you've mentioned it... I really have no idea. This doesn't have a real time to it, and it just kinda floats around in the time dimension. It's also a bit AU, but not really, and so... you know. I don't really know how to explain it.**

**WOW: Germany and Japan will be a part of this, yes, but mostly Germany. He's more involved with Italy than Japan, but our favorite Kiku shall appear in a few chapters, too.**

**Guest (MaxiTalia): I'm really glad that you're enjoying both my fics ^^ You say you have Liechtensteiner blood, eh? Sounds awesome!**

**Sparkly Pandas: Spain did win... and I was devastated for two entire days... but Spain is a really good team, although I wanted my Italy to win. I'm just gonna keep my fingers crossed for the World Cup, then. :D**

**So... here we are! This chapter is a bit short, but I've just gotten back a few hours ago and hurried to put out another chapter for you. I promise chapter 4 will be much better, and Veneziano is going to be in chapter 4, so of course it'll have to be awesome!**

**Enjoy:**

* * *

**III. Playing maid**

"Stay away from the grass! Don't you see the path right there?"

Liechtenstein jumped, the book clutched in her hands dropping to the ground. With a curious expression, she pushed her curtains aside and leaned out the window to see who Switzerland was yelling at.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Spain's cheerful voice floated up to her. She watched as he jumped away from Switzerland's flowerbeds and stepped upon the path instead.

Liechtenstein saw her brother, a few windows away, glaring at Spain irritatedly. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

"I wanted to ask you something." Spain called up, smiling widely and oblivious to Switzerland's stormy mood.

"Wait down there." Switzerland grunted, and Liechtenstein watched as her brother's head ducked back inside the window. She heard his rapid footsteps along the hallway, and then a click of the door.

Pulling back from the window, Liechtenstein returned to her book.

"What! Nein!"

Startled, Liechtenstein dropped the book once more and rushed down into the living room.

"Big bruder! What's wrong?" She searched Switzerland's blazing green eyes and his indignant pose, and then turned to Spain with a confused look.

"I'm not going to allow this!" Switzerland took notice of her standing there and moved to take a stand in front of her protectively. "Liechtenstein will not be playing maid to anyone, whether it be you or Romano."

_Huh? Me, being a maid?_

Suddenly, Liechtenstein found an opportunity to grab at the deal and get herself a good job. She had been thinking of doing some kind of work, after all, and taking all the weight off her brother's shoulders. "Bruder, I think I-"

"You see? Liechtenstein doesn't want to take the job, either." Switzerland retorted before she could even get the words out of her mouth.

"But you see, Liechtenstein is the perfect one for the job. What with Romano's memory loss and all, I just need her for a couple of months. That is, until Romano gets back his memory." Spain paused for a brief second. "Unless Liechtenstein wants to stay." He said thoughtfully, giving her a small wink, which Switzerland immediately intercepted.

"No! No is no! If Liechtenstein was willing to go, I'd let her, but she doesn't want to. I won't force her, and I disapprove of this plan anyway." He shoved Spain toward the door. "Please leave."

"Wait, big bruder-" She did want to take the job, but Switzerland wouldn't let her finish.

"Good bye." He said to Spain, holding the door open.

"Wait! Big bruder! I'd like to take up the offer, please!" She blurted out. Almost immediately, her green eyes widened and her hand flew to cover her mouth. She hadn't meant to displease Switzerland, but she really wanted to have that job. It would let Switzerland be able to rest more and make him happier... right?

Her brother turned around slowly and gave her an incredulous stare, while Spain clapped his hands in delight.

"Liechtenstein... you're serious about this?" Switzerland said slowly.

She nodded. "Ja. It might be fun, and I'll be able to help you more with the money. You won't have to worry about me."

Her brother's eyes widened. "Nein! I don't need more money." He said quietly, glum faced. "I don't mind if you just stay at home with me. You're not a bother or anything."

Liechtenstein bowed her head. "It's ok big bruder. I want this job. And it might really be fun." At that moment, Spain tugged on her arm.

"Si! You're going to meet Romano, and I bet you two will like each other. You'll be good company for him, and you can also meet Veneziano when he visits! Oh, and..." Spain rambled on, and Liechtenstein shot Switzerland a smile.

"I'll be fine." She told him, placing a hand around his reassuringly.

* * *

A week later, she was standing in front of Spain's mansion with Switzerland. He held her suitcase.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok? France and Prussia visit Spain often, and who knows what that trio will do to you?" Switzerland shuddered, and looked at her in concern.

"Spain told me everything I need to know already, big bruder. And I'm sure they won't do anything to me." She assured him, bounding up the stairs to ring the doorbell.

"Hola!" Spain greeted her at the doorway, and went out to retrieve her suitcase. With a pat to her scowling brother's shoulder, Liechtenstein entered the house.

"Remember to write me! And come home on the weekends!" He called out worriedly.

"Ja. It's not like I'm going to be shipped away to a foreign place, bruder. Spain isn't that far away from Switzerland." She beamed at him. "Auf Wiedersehen. Good bye."

Spain shut the door behind her, and they made small talk as he showed her around the mansion.

"It's beautiful here." Liechtenstein told him timidly, her wide eyes studying the tinted windows on the walls as they passed. She ran her free hand along the smooth wall as they walked down the hallway, her other hand tugging the suitcase. She also lived in a mansion with Switzerland, but Spain's mansion was completely different. Everything was spread out in the rooms to display his wealth and his Spanish ways, while Switzerland cherished his money and went through a great deal to keep his beloved belongings, especially his guns, kept in top condition inside cases littered along the hallways.

Spain grinned at her, his bright green eyes sparkling. "Gracias!" He studied Liechtenstein quietly for a moment as she pondered about the paintings on the wall.

"You're a nice little nation. It'll be a good change for Romano." He finally said, breaking her trance with the patterns on the ceiling. "Speaking of which, let me show you to your room, and then we'll have lunch!"

Spain thrusted his tan arms to open the heavy wooden doors to Liechtenstein's room, and she stared at it in amazement. Everything had been set up already, just like how Liechtenstein's room in Switzerland's house looked.

"I wanted to make you comfortable here. You're our guest, after all. I'm not going to be treating you like a horrible worker like what Switzerland thinks." Spain chuckled, and stood by the doorway smiling as she ventured inside the room.

"Danke!" Liechtenstein rolled her suitcase in and explored her surroundings.

"No problem. Lunch in ten minutes!" Spain grinned, and then left her to herself.

Liechtenstein pulled out her clothing one by one and hung them up inside the wardrobe. She hummed to herself a little. It felt good to finally be of some use to her brother. And not only that, but she would be helping other nations, too. It made her proud, and happy inside. Smiling a little, Liechtenstein closed the drawer of undergarments and stood up to retie her violet ribbon into her hair. She was going to enjoy her work at Spain's house.

Now... to find the kitchen. Spain might need her to make lunch. Or maybe look for the dining room instead? Liechtenstein peered out of her room into the empty hallway, and realized that she didn't know the way to either place. Padding along the hallway, she looked for some sort of hint or the smell of lunch, but found nothing.

Just as she was walking past a closed door, it flew open and slammed right into her. Liechtenstein let out a yelp and was sent back to the ground, sprawling on her knees.

The door closed and a nation rushed out, holding his hand to her. She was about to take it, when the hand disappeared, and in its place was a frowning face.

"Oh, you're that maid that Spain hired." He said, his voice showing clear dislike for her. Liechtenstein took the hint and climbed to her feet by herself, keeping her head down.

"Ja. Nice to meet you." She said softly.

A hand nudged her chin so that she had to look up. Her emerald eyes locked onto the other's darker ones, and she was taken aback by the nation's flawless tan complexion and his olive colored eyes. This must have been Romano.

"Don't gape." Romano grumbled, turning away from her and crossing his arms across his chest.

"I'm sorry, m-master Romano." Liechtenstein managed, blurting out the only thing she could think to say.

"Don't call me master." Romano turned back to her with an uncertain look in his eyes and a faint blush, but that was washed away quickly and replaced by what seemed like a spark of realization. "You're German." He accused her.

"J-Ja." She stuttered.

"I met a 'Germany' yesterday. He came over to talk with the tomato bastard. I don't like Germans." Romano retorted.

Liechtenstein flinched at his harsh language, but she decided not to dwell on it. She'd be seeing a lot of Romano now, and she would have to get used to him sooner or later. But judging by his attitude, he didn't seem to want to have anything to do with her. She hoped that he would loosen up more to her later, when they've gotten used to each other. It didn't seem likely.

"I... Can you please show me to the kitchen? Spain wanted me there for lunch." She said meekly.

"Si..." He said curtly, and beckoned her to follow him. Liechtenstein raced to keep up with his quick pace, always a few steps behind him as she looked around the mansion in wonder.

"Hey, hurry up." Romano urged, sticking his head back to pull her into a different hallway before she crashed into a vase. She had been too busy admiring the lights to notice where she was going. "Danke." She told Romano, but he ignored it and simply pulled her away silently.

Liechtenstein was met by the wonderful scent of food as she entered the kitchen. Spain was already setting out their lunch on a small table.

"Come eat!" He called cheerily to the two of them, and Romano left her to take a spot at the table.

"Oh, I see you've met each other." Spain grinned. "I'm happy to see that you're getting along so well." True to his inability to read the atmosphere, Spain continued on without noticing that Romano was doing his best to avoid Liechtenstein and she was standing awkwardly to the side.

"Oh... I... ja." Liechtenstein replied, and took her place at the table. She glanced at the meal consisting of a large pizza and tomato sandwiches. It was a simple lunch, but looked delicious nonetheless.

Romano remained silent as he grabbed a slice of pizza and began to eat.

"Well then, let's eat." Spain smiled and offered Liechtenstein a slice of pizza. She bit into it tentatively, wondering what it was going to taste like. She'd never tried real pizza before, although it seemed to be a popular food.

"It tastes... like pizza!" She told Spain, smiling and chomping into her slice again. Switzerland had definitely rubbed off on her, because she faintly remembered him telling her that her sandwich tasted 'like sandwich'. But really, there was no other way to describe the pizza-like taste in her mouth. Pizza also had cheese, and she liked cheese.

"Good?" Spain asked, his mouth full of tomatoes.

"Ja." She beamed at him, and noticed Romano looking up for a fraction of a second before turning away. It made her stomach feel weird, but also gave her a spark of hope.

Yes, she would enjoy her time with Spain and Romano, even if she was to work as a maid, and even if Romano despised her.

* * *

She was pretty, Romano admitted that.

He had been ready to help her up, because you don't just slam into a pretty girl and leave her on the ground like that. But then he'd realized that she was the maid that Spain hired against his will, and everything good he felt about her had disintegrated.

He had been ready to turn his back on her and let her find her way around by herself, but when she looked up at him with that innocent, startled look, he couldn't tear his gaze away. Something about her seemed familiar. And she was very pretty in a fragile way. Like a little flower.

But just because she was a pretty nation didn't mean that he had to be nice to her, right? And she was working for them against his wishes, anyway, so...

He'd turned his back on her.

But for some reason, Romano couldn't keep his eyes off her. She seemed like a frightened _bambina _in Spain's giant mansion, and something kept him from shutting her out completely. So he'd decided to be nice. Just a little.

For some reason, he'd felt the slightest bit jealous when Spain took the whole afternoon showing her his tomato garden. Weren't the two of them supposed to be taking care of _him_? Although, he wasn't sure if he was jealous of Spain or Liechtenstein.

That night, Liechtenstein came into his room as he was studying the pictures of him and Spain, Veneziano, and a nation named Belgium, whom he had supposedly had a crush on before.

"_Hallo._" Liechtenstein greeted him, and he looked up with an annoyed expression.

"What do you want?" He demanded.

"Spain wanted me to tell you that Italy Veneziano is coming to visit tomorrow, m-master Romano." She told him quietly, bowing her head.

He wanted to tell her to look up, because he wouldn't bite or anything. She was so humble, and he didn't want to be her master or whatever. But of course he bit his tongue.

"Grazie." He told her dismissively, and Liechtenstein turned to leave.

Just a few seconds afterwards, Romano heard a great crashing sound outside his door. He threw down his pictures with a great sigh and rushed outside the door.

"What's wrong now?" He grumbled, looking for Liechtenstein so he could give her the stink eye, but not quite finding her.

"Sorry!" She spoke, drawing Romano's attention to the collapsed painting on the ground. Liechtenstein was buried under it.

"You're so clumsy. Even more than the tomato bastard. I thought Germans were supposed to be all composed and stuff." He huffed, pulling up the painting and setting it against the wall. Spain would fix it tomorrow.

"I... danke!" The little blonde nation chirped, putting her hands on her knees and bowing her head in an expression of gratitude, and then rushed off. Romano looked after her in a confused daze.

No, he told himself gruffly. He wouldn't let the Liechtensteiner faze him. He was just going to keep on avoiding and ignoring her until her months were over, his memory came back, and she was returned back to wherever she came from.

That had been his plan from the beginning, and he was going to stick to it. Although he was starting to have the tiniest hints of doubt.

* * *

**There we go! What did you think about that? Oh, I almost forgot: Thank you readers and reviewers, and if you have any special requests for the fic or anything else (keep in mind that I completely suck at one shots), just post them in the reviews! Love you all!**

***If Nyan cat was real, our world would be full of rainbow-farting poptart-shaped cat babies***


	4. Meeting Veneziano

**Well, here's our fourth chapter!**

**Before going on, I wanna thank you all for asking about my vacation. It was great, the beach was awesome, I was forced to sing in a talent show, but I don't want to talk about that xD I also came back looking very very tan O.O And no, Daddy, nobody hit on me... *wink wink* (-le gasp- Am I becoming like... France?)**

**Anyway, a reply to my reviewers:**

**MaxiTalia: Wow! You're Italy and Liechtenstein combined, two of my favorite characters in one person! That must be awesome!**

**Eva of Moonstone: I think the JapLiech one sounds interesting. I'll probably turn it into a oneshot, but it'll have to wait a while. Sorry!**

**WOW: Only England and Austria are inside the plan at the moment, but I plan for someone else to join them very soon. And once again... love your little skit!**

**SparklyPandas: I imagine that would be very kawaii =)**

**AKJK: I don't like reader inserts, and well, you can pretend that you're Liechtenstein :D**

**Guest: Yep, I've given the story an image icon thingy~~ I think it turned out quite nicely, but a little small, and well, it's of Romano and Liechtenstein. **

**And... on with the story!**

* * *

**IV. Meeting Veneziano**

Romano dreamed that night.

This time, he was viewing a fancy looking room inside of a house. He wasn't personally in the dream, but he seemed to be watching it. It was a strange feeling of weightlessness and curiosity that he hung onto.

Romano was surveying the quiet room when the door opened and the boy who looked like him, but only with a curl on the opposite side of his head, stumbled in. He looked starved and exhausted.

_"I'm hungry." _He complained, his high, childish voice deflated with hunger.

Another figure walked in after him. Romano recognized the petite little girl with the blonde pigtails. These were the people that he had seen in his previous dream. But the timeline must have jumped to a period before the one in his other dream, because all both of the nations in the room looked younger than before.

The blonde girl donned an apron over her blue plaid dress, and something about her seemed strangely familiar. Was it her big, smiling emerald green eyes? Her soft blonde strands of hair? Nah, if he'd ever met anyone with such beautiful hair and eyes, he'd definitely remember them. Or was this from when his memory was still whole?

_"How about I make you some pasta? Mr. Austria just went over to Mr. Switzerland's place, and Miss Hungary has gone, too. Oh, we can look for Romano, too." _Once more, the little girl's sweet voice had him frozen as he tried to imprint the sound of it in his mind. Romano was suddenly aware of what he was feeling though, and a dark blush seeped into his cheeks.

_"Ooh, pasta! Ve! Let's go!" _The boy took the girl's hand and stole a kiss when she wasn't looking. He laughed cheerfully, and dragged her out of the room too quickly for Romano to see her reaction.

Suddenly, Romano felt a strange red-hot bubbling sensation inside him. It couldn't be jealousy, could it? But from his spot of observation over the room, he could hear the merry giggles out in the hallway, and it made his insides boil.

* * *

Romano was ready to meet his younger brother.

He wondered what Veneziano would look like. He wondered how Veneziano would act like. But most of all, he wondered what it felt like to have a brother, and if Veneziano could help him restore the little parts of his childhood memory. He clung to that little spark of hope.

"What's wrong Roma? Worried about Veneziano? Or are you worried about Belgium?" Spain chuckled, biting into a tortilla.

Apparently, Spain had also invited Belgium over, who claimed that she wanted to see how Romano was doing. Romano was also excited to meet her; he wondered if she would look as she had in the pictures and act as nice as Spain had praised her on.

"You know, you used to have a crush on Belgium when you were younger." Spain smiled widely. "You would demand her to kiss you, and then she'd tease you."

"Shut up bastard. You told me that before already, and I don't want to hear it again." For some reason, Romano's eyes flickered toward Liechtenstein, who didn't even seem to be listening and was busy eating her cheese. "Plus, maybe I liked her as a little kid, but I'm grown up now." He scowled into his pizza.

"Relax, Roma. I was kidding." Spain spoke with his mouth full, but still managed to shoot a smile in Romano's direction. "Well, they'll be here in an hour, so finish up! I'm done." Stuffing the rest of the tortilla into his mouth, Spain stood up and looked toward Liechtenstein. "Do you need any help with the dishes?"

Liechtenstein shook her head, her violet ribbon fluttering slightly. "Nein. I'll be fine."

"Ok then." Spain grinned at Liechtenstein, and she replied with a smile of her own. Romano wondered how she had gotten used to Spain so quickly, while she still spoke to him warily. After staring at his plate glumly for a few seconds, he proceeded to eating the rest of the slice of pizza. He didn't care if they were on more friendly terms than him, anyway.

Romano finished his pizza to the sound of the dishwasher, and avoided Liechtenstein's soft green eyes trailing after him as he stalked back to his room. He didn't know why he was acting so sourly to her, and he didn't want to dwell on it, but he couldn't stop. And frankly, he was scared of how he would act around her without hiding behind the cold and aloof mask.

"Romano! Belgium's here!" Came Spain's voice, and Romano sighed to himself, turning around on the staircase and making his way back downstairs once more. His excited mood had suddenly evaporated.

A blonde nation greeted him at the doorway, along with a grinning Spain. "Ciao." Romano said curtly, peering into her eyes. The nation's bright green eyes radiated happiness, something that irked Romano a bit, for some strange reason.

"Hey there Romano!" Belgium grinned and ruffled his hair, and then threw an arm around Spain. "Do you still remember me, Romano?"

He didn't. "No." He told Belgium, studying her more carefully. The wavy shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes were expected, as he had seen from the pictures, but he didn't quite feel as attracted to her as he had expected. Sure, Belgium was pretty, and maybe he had a crush on her when he had been younger, but that was different now.

He turned away from the cheerful couple and headed back into the house, aware of the lingering stares burning into his back. He wondered what had changed him so much. Was it the memory loss or something else entirely?

Sitting in his room and waiting for Veneziano, Romano thought about the strange dreams that he had been having lately. He remembered that there were the same people each time, but he could never recall what they looked like. Well, except for the little blonde girl.

Romano's eyes trailed around the room and then out his window, where he stared longingly at the clouds.

He tried conjuring up the girl in his mind. Squinting his eyes at the sky, Romano remembered blonde braids, emerald green eyes that were always wide and smiling. He also recalled her little pink lips, the ever-present rose blush tint coloring her pale complexion. Her dress, sometimes blue and sometimes red, with an apron over it. He tried matching this description to the nations he had met, but couldn't seem to come up with the right match.

There was a knock on his door.

"M-master Romano?" He'd recognize that voice anywhere, although he wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

"What?" Romano retorted, and a strange thought suddenly crossed his mind. Could it have been Liechtenstein? No, Liechtenstein's hair was shorter, although the same color, and-

"Master Romano, Veneziano is here." Liechtenstein said quietly, pushing the door slightly ajar.

"Really?" With a curious expression dawning on his face, Romano jumped down from his perch and pulled the door open.

"Fratello! I'm so glad that you're alright! Germany said that he went to see you and you were absolutely fine, but I was so worried and I just wanted to see you myself. He also said you have something called 'memory loss' and aren't able to remember your past, but you still remember me, right? Ve~!" The other half of him, half the nation, that is, tackled him and wrapped him in a big bear hug.

"Gah! S-Stop that!" Romano exclaimed, struggling in his brother's grip and blushing immensely. When Veneziano did remove his grip, he dragged his brother to the sit on the carpet on the floor. "Ve! Tell me everything!"

"You-"

"Oh, Liechtenstein, come here too!" Veneziano beamed at Liechtenstein, and Romano noticed that his eyes seemed to stay forever closed. "You have a very beautiful maid, ve." He told Romano, tugging on Liechtenstein's hand to pull her down next to him.

Romano gaped at the pair before him, and felt something a little like relief when Liechtenstein pulled away. "I've got to do something, Italy. I'll be right back." She sent him a smile, and then rushed out the door, blonde hair fluttering back and forth and maid dress hitched up to her ankles as she raced down the stairs.

"You're lucky to have such a beautiful nation working for you, fratello." Italy said, stretched out on his stomach and grinning at Romano as he ranted on. "I just met Liechtenstein downstairs, and she was very nice to me. Germany dropped me off, and she seemed to know him, and promised that she'd take good care of me. Then she said that she'd make me pasta when I come over another day, because she didn't have the ingredients ready. And then I told her that I'd come over and help her make it, ve!" He spoke so fondly of Liechtenstein that Romano wondered where he had gone wrong and why Liechtenstein wouldn't treat him so. _You were mean to her, remember? And you don't even want her around anyway, so why think about her so much?_

Romano ignored the voices in his head. "The potato bastard was here?" He asked, maneuvering the conversation away from Liechtenstein.

"Si! Oh, you still dislike him, fratello? He's not a bad guy, really, and now that your memory's temporarily gone, maybe you can start over with him. He's not as strict as he looks, ve! And he's usually very tolerant of everything. I just don't like how he makes us train all the time, and his sausages taste kinda bad, but other than that, he's a nice guy."

"I don't think so." Romano scowled, and suddenly the door was flung open and Liechtenstein walked in, carrying a clear bowl of tomatoes and a plate of pasta.

"Pasta!" Veneziano exploded, jumping to his feet and rushing toward Liechtenstein. Romano stared after him... What a strange guy, he thought.

Romano watched as his brother took the plate from Liechtenstein's hand in such a rush that he knocked her over to the ground. In the space of three seconds, Liechtenstein had been knocked to the ground, the bowl of tomatoes flew out of her hand, and tomatoes were rolling all around his room.

Making a point to ignore Liechtenstein –he didn't ask himself why he was acting so strange and ignorant- Romano picked up the tomato nearest him. "Look what you did, you clumsy girl. The tomatoes are ruined now." He complained, but nobody replied to him. Instead, Romano looked up to the sight of a flustered Liechtenstein and his brother rushing over to help her.

"Mi dispiace! I'm so sorry Liechtenstein! Are you ok, ve? Did I hurt you?" Italy frantically threw his plate of pasta to the side and dropped down beside Liechtenstein, gathering all the tomatoes into a pile as the bowl was hopelessly broken.

"It wasn't y-your fault. I-I'm fine." Liechtenstein stammered, reaching out her hands to gather up the tomatoes. "I'm going to get a new bowl." She said hurriedly, her lips wavering.

Italy reached out for her hand. "Your finger's bleeding! Did the glass from the bowl cut you or something?"

Romano huffed.

"N-Nein! I'll be fine." Liechtenstein protested, and Romano wondered whether Veneziano would let go of her or not.

"Here! This is what Ludwig does to my boo-boos and owies." Italy brought Liechtenstein's hand to his lips and kissed it gently, while Romano stared in anger. Who was he do that to _his _maid?

Liechtenstein was speechless for a few seconds, but then she seemed to regain her composure. Staring at Italy with wide eyes, she managed to stammer out, "Danke!" and gather the tomatoes in her apron. Before Romano could compensate what was happening, she had disappeared out the door.

"Fratello, you should really be nicer to Liechtenstein." Italy told him, looking after Liechtenstein worriedly.

"Hey, she's my maid, not yours." He scowled, and then became silent as Veneziano talked on and on about how he should change his attitude. Romano caught a sentence here or there that showed him Veneziano knew him well, at least the old him, but he didn't pay much attention. He was busy wondering when Liechtenstein would return so he could apologize for being so curt and short tempered with her.

* * *

Veneziano left after dinner, and promised that he'd come back. While Liechtenstein ate dinner along with him, his brother, Spain and Belgium, she didn't seem to be interesting in saying anything, and Romano couldn't help thinking that it was his fault. It was only her second day, and he had already started treating her badly. He didn't see the reason why he was so mean toward her, though. It just seemed like whenever he tried to keep a decent conversation with her, he would notice her large, shining eyes giving him all their attention, her hopefulness still vying for his kindness, and somewhat her wariness that built a wall between them. When those times came and he started to feel strange emotions stirring inside him, he would bury them underneath a pile of reckless words and ignorance. But he wasn't a coward in any way... right?

So Romano decided to help Liechtenstein after dinner.

"Aren't you done with your food, Master Romano?" She spoke to him for the first time since the accident that afternoon, but her voice was clear of any bitterness.

"S-Si." Romano replied, trying to chase away the strange nervousness he felt. _Let's get this over with... _He thought.

"I... I wanted to stay and help you." Romano blurted out, his green eyes immediately pinpointing on the floor. "I mean... I wanted to..."

"That'd be great." She smiled, and for the first time, that smile was directed at him. Romano felt a warm blush spread over his cheeks. What was she doing to him?

"You can help me bring these dirty dishes over to the sink, if you don't mind. Then we'll have to rinse them and put them in the dishwasher." Liechtenstein grabbed the plates on the table, and Romano made a move to do the same.

Not really used to cleaning up (and he obviously hadn't ever listened to Spain's orders to do his chores before, as Spain had told him), Romano took too many plates at a time and his hands shook as he walked over to the sink, trying hard to balance the dishes on his hands.

"Not so many!" Liechtenstein laughed, and the familiar high tinkling laugh she had sounded strangely familiar. "Let me help you."

Romano saw Liechtenstein reaching out for the plates as he peeked out from behind them. "G-Grazie." He told her, feeling immediate relief as the weight was lifted away from him.

"H-Hey Liechtenstein." He said quietly as his hands were filled to the wrist with soap bubbles and he scrubbed the dishes.

"Ja?"

"I'm s-sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to be so..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say next and instantly becoming flustered again.

"It's alright." Liechtenstein told him, although her face suddenly seemed strained, like there was something else she wanted to say but couldn't quite manage.

"I really mean it. I'm sorry about that." He was also sorry about the way he'd treated her, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"I know you mean it. I guess it's just..."

"What?" Romano asked her, genuinely curious, although he tried not to show it.

There was a long silence as they loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. "It's nothing." Liechtenstein finally told him, undoing her ribbon and heading out of the kitchen, toward her room, he presumed.

"Good night, Romano."

"I..." Romano stood in the empty kitchen by himself, staring after her retreating figure. He felt stunned, and he couldn't manage the words until she had left already. "Good night, Liechtenstein." He called after her, but he was sure that she hadn't heard. And Romano remained in the kitchen long after that, wondering about Liechtenstein and about himself. The monotonous humming sound of Spain's dishwasher finally broke him from his reverie, and he stumbled back into his room as if struck by lightning.

* * *

"How is the plan working out so far?" Austria asked England as the blonde nation plopped on his couch. Arthur had made a point to visit more often lately, and Austria found that Hungary had taken a strange liking to the British nation, as she often claimed that "He's such a gentleman!"

"Relax, my friend. She's only been there for two days, but I have a feeling that she and Italy will become good friends. Romano, on the other hand... I don't know what to make of him." England replied, busying himself with a scone.

Austria noticed that England made all sorts of disgusted faces as he munched on the scone, and he wondered if England had finally noticed that his food tasted horrible. "How do you know all this? Do you stalk them or something?"

"Of course not!" England protested. "I asked Spain how Liechtenstein was doing, and that's what he told me."

"Well then..." Austria sipped his tea daintily. "You better hope that your plan works out, Britain."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But it will. We'll find a way to connect the three of them, don't worry!" England smirked, and for a moment Austria was convinced. And then all his trust evaporated into the air as quickly as tea left out overnight when he saw England muttering to himself: "I sure do hope so."

* * *

**How'd you feel about that little character change in Romano near the end there? And what about Austria and England's little exchange? Leave a message in the reviews :D **


	5. Not just a weak maid

**Chapter 5 is here! These following chapters (from 5 to 9, probably), will show you more of Romano's soft spot for Liechtenstein, some interactions between England and Austria, and some of the Bad Touch Trio, until we come to a revelation and more dramatic chapter, but I'm not giving out any spoilers xD This fic, as you can probably tell by now, will be much shorter than Darkness and Light, but I'm working hard on it nonetheless. Writing Romano's POV proved to be hard, but quite fun :D And yes, we'll have Veneziano's POV soon.**

**Replying to reviews:**

**Everyone: I'd like to say that I'm not going to change this into a reader insert, no matter what. As a matter of fact, I'm not going to be writing any reader inserts (or any stories with OCs, or putting myself into the story) either. If you like those kinds of stories, then I'm not the right author for you. I personally write fanfics because I enjoy seeing the characters' interactions with each other when put in a certain situation, and I like to think out the characters' thoughts and actions. But I most definitely do not like putting new characters that don't belong in the story, because then the whole fic becomes unreal (to me), and it isn't something that I enjoy doing. I write because of the characters I love, not because I want to put myself, or a perfect OC, or a reader into the story. So if this isn't what you want, then there are many other fics out there that fit into this category, but I'm not one of them. And being a newbie, I don't want to jump into that bandwagon, thanks :D**

**Eva of Moonstone; Ayumi Kudou; and some unnamed others: Yes, I'll be doing a JapLiech one shot. So now I have EngLiech and JapLiech on my plate xD And England... well, I think he's starting to think more carefully about his plan and realize that it isn't as fool-proof as he thought. Or maybe he's just got a bad feeling in his stomach from eating so many horrible tasting scones. (No offense, England. I still love you ^^) That's for you guys to intepret.**

**Flying mint bunny girl: That's a very, very, very small GerIta-ish mention, but I got that from that one episode where Germany kisses Italy after him demanding a hug or something, I don't remember very clearly. It just goes to show how tolerant of Italy Germany can be xD**

**Liechtenstein's lover: I voted for ChinaLiech, Spamano, and AmerIta, because those are my personal favorite characters :D**

**Gothic-Romantic99: Thank you for the detailed reviews =^.^= I appreciate them a lot. Glad to have you with us.**

**Sparkly Pandas: I laughed so hard at your little skit, but well, I always do. And I agree that England's scones are not really for eating... I really like seeing the Italian brothers with Liechtenstein for some reason, and I'd like it if there were more of these on Fanfiction, lol.**

**And now... for our awaited chapter...**

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**V. Not just a weak maid**

Romano wondered what was up with him.

Although he had apologized to Liechtenstein, throughout the next two weeks heading into the end of October, his emotions kept jumping around like crazy. One day he'd help her around the house, and the next he would just ignore her like the first day. He didn't mean to do it, really, but whenever she spoke to him and he wanted to say something nice in response, he'd think about how uncharacteristic of him that was, and retort something completely uncalled for. Shit, was he going crazy?

He was also starting to have a collection of dreams. Whenever he laid down his head, he'd see the pigtailed blonde girl and the two identical boys. He wondered if his dreams were supposed to mean anything, and if he had been having them since before his memory loss. And then he'd wonder when the memories would come back. The doctor, who he had been introduced to as China, had supposedly told him that they would return soon, but the possibilities didn't seem very bright. And something inside him, deep inside a part where he would never admit existed, hoped that his memories wouldn't return. He didn't know who he had been before, but he knew that the faint memories Spain had used to help him get by were enough for him to survive. He just didn't want to be back like before, because... because... of _her. _

But of course, he'd never admit that, not even to himself.

"Romano!" Spain suddenly called from his doorway, startling Romano from his little unrealistic daydream. He turned back from the window and made a point to glare at Spain, hoping that his cheeks weren't as pink as he thought.

"What, tomato bastard?" He huffed. A head of blonde hair suddenly peeked out from behind Spain, and Romano had to shift his gaze away to avoid... what? What was he trying to avoid? There was nothing wrong with Liechtenstein, and he knew that... The blush instantly returned to his cheeks.

"Liechtenstein's going to the market to get some food for dinner, and I think you should come with her." Spain said cheerfully. Was the bastard always so cheerful?

"Why? She has no problem going by herself."

"We-ell," Spain grinned. "My boss wants me to visit Belgium next week, on business, and I won't be back until the week after that." He gestured to Liechtenstein. "Liechtenstein will be taking care of you, so I just want you to be better friends with each other." Spain smiled; tilting his head slightly to the side, and Liechtenstein peeked out from where Spain was hogging the doorway and set her emerald eyes on Romano.

"It's ok if you don't want to come, Master Romano. I don't want to cause you trouble." She said quietly, and there was a look that flickered in her eyes that made him soften up, just a little.

"Alright, bastard, I'll come." He said. "Just so you would stop nagging." He quickly added.

"You'd come? Great!" Liechtenstein sent him a smile, and then bounced away just as cheerfully as Spain would. "I'll be waiting downstairs."

Romano noticed Spain's fond glance after Liechtenstein, and then got up off his perch beside the window to follow Liechtenstein down the stairs. Brushing past Spain, he heard his little whisper.

"Behave yourself, ok?" The chuckle that followed made Romano flush in irritation. It wasn't as if he would do anything bad. With a determined glare, Romano pushed past Spain and descended down the spiral stairs. He found Liechtenstein standing by the open doors, and walked over toward her. She opened her mouth to say something, but he ushered her out the doorway. He didn't want Spain to see them leaving, because he'd just remark something completely irrelevant and embarrassing about him.

Romano marched down the pathway and turned left, determined to lead Liechtenstein and prove that he didn't need anyone 'taking care' of him while Spain was gone.

"Romano? The market's this way." Liechtenstein's voice came from somewhere behind him. Slowly, he turned around and scowled.

"I knew that."

Romano had to settle for following Liechtenstein as she led the way to the marketplace. But surprisingly, she dropped back a few paces until she was just by his side.

"Romano?" Liechtenstein suddenly spoke up. Her face seemed tense and troubled, and she wasn't looking at him. Damn it, what had he done?

"Si?" He answered hesitantly, narrowing his eyes. If he was to be worried about her, then so be it. He might ignore her at times, but it didn't mean he wanted to be mean. He did care, even if he'd never say that out loud. And she wasn't the tomato bastard or the potato bastard, anyway.

"I... You've been ignoring me a lot lately and..." She stopped walking and finally looked up at him. "I just want to know why." Her emerald eyes full of hurt and confusion made him feel like he was a terrible monster.

_Those eyes... _Romano avoided her gaze. He just couldn't tell her '_Well, I avoid you because I don't want to become too attached, because you'll be gone when my memory's back.' _He didn't know how to response, and she looked expectant of an answer.

"It isn't your fault or anything." He told her.

"Right." Liechtenstein replied. "Well then, let's go to the market."

"I mean it. It isn't your fault. You didn't do anything wrong." _No, it's me and my dickish attitude._

Liechtenstein didn't reply but kept walking on, and Romano eventually followed.

The market was already crowded when they arrived. Romano assumed that it was a Spanish style market, because he didn't quite remember ever being there before, and he also couldn't make out much of the words.

"Hello, Miss Lilli." The man at the cabbage stall greeted Liechtenstein with a large smile. Liechtenstein must have gone to the market a lot for the sellers to know her so well.

"Good evening." She smiled back at him, and leaned over the tomato cart. "I'll have two cabbages, please."

"Ah, here you go." Romano watched as the man handed Lilli two cabbages inside a bag. "I'll lower the price just for you, since you come here so often."

Liechtenstein shook her head. "I'll just pay the original price, if you don't mind." She handed the cabbage seller some money and took the bag from his hands. "Danke! I mean, thank you. I mean, gra-gra..."

"Gracias." Romano answered for her. He did know some Italian, after all. Spain had tried to renew his Spanish after the accident multiple times, and even though he rarely paid attention, he knew some of the simplest words. "Gracias." He told the man.

"Oh, is this the Lovino you always talk about?" The man smiled at him politely.

"Ja." Liechtenstein bowed her head a little, and Romano thought he sensed a small blush on her cheeks before she tugged him away. "Good bye for now."

"Alright. Come back soon." The man waved to them, and even Romano couldn't help feeling that the two of them were actually... friends. And to add to that, Liechtenstein talked about him? That was... unexpected. If anything, he expected her to talk about Veneziano, because over the few times or so that he had visited in the last two weeks, they'd always had fun making all sorts of Italian and German pastries together while Romano sat fuming in his room.

"Master Romano, would you like to get some dough? We can make pizza." Liechtenstein suggested, filling up her basket as they passed the stalls and displays.

"Ah... si." He replied, and Liechtenstein tugged him over to the dough stall.

"Miss Lilli! Welcome!" A woman with graying hair looked up and sent Liechtenstein a cheerful smile.

"Hello." Liechtenstein leaned down to search the bags of dough. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, although the change in the weather makes my bones feel weird. Doesn't this half hot, half cold weather make you feel more tired than usual?"

"Ja. Yes, it does." Liechtenstein cracked a smile, and Romano stood behind her awkwardly, watching the whole exchange and wondering how Liechtenstein was so friendly. "It doesn't snow in Spain in the winter, does it?" Liechtenstein asked.

"No. I assume you're from some place else? Germany?"

"That's close." Liechtenstein handed the woman a pack of dough. "I'm, um, from Liechtenstein."

"Oh. That little country by Switzerland?"

"Ja. He's my big bro- I mean, yes." Receiving the pack of dough in a bag and then paying for it, Liechtenstein said her good byes to the woman, and they continued on their way.

"I... do you want me to carry that basket? It seems heavy." Romano suggested, and then blushed slightly. How did that come out of his mouth?

"I'm fine, but danke." She smiled, and then pulled Romano to her side. "Careful! It's very busy here in the afternoon." A man pushing a wheelbarrow shoved past him and just managed to miss his boots.

"Grazie." Romano made a mental note to curse at anyone that got in his way, and then decided that it wasn't such a good idea.

"Here, come this way. I usually go through this alley when it's so crowded. It's a shortcut home." Liechtenstein grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the crowd. A strange tingling sensation shot up his arm, and Romano almost recoiled from Liechtenstein. Except he realized that it was probably his imagination. A dark blush colored his cheeks and he became silent and scowling once more, and luckily the alleyway was more shaded and she couldn't see him blushing profusely. Not that she was even looking. Not that he cared.

"This way." Liechtenstein guided him through the alleyway, turning corners and telling him to duck at the right time. "Strange, it's usually much brighter here. It's darker than normal." She suddenly said.

"Must be the weather." Romano spoke up, just because he felt the need to fill in the silence. To speak the truth, the alley was starting to get colder and darker and damper and giving him goosebumps.

Suddenly, Liechtenstein's hand left his and Romano was left alone in the dim light of the alley. "L-Liechtenstein?"

"Ja. There's a big boulder blocking the path here." Romano blindly followed Liechtenstein's voice, until he stumbled upon the mentioned boulder. Liechtenstein was kneeling right beside it and examining the big rock.

"It wasn't there when I went this way just a few days ago." Liechtenstein took on a confused tone, but then she stood up and brushed the dirt off her dress. "I guess we'll have to go back through the marketplace."

"Alright then." Romano grumbled slightly, but swallowed his irritation with the out-of-nowhere boulder and followed Liechtenstein around the corners.

Suddenly, when Romano was falling a few paces behind Liechtenstein, a hand shot out from the shadows and grabbed onto his arm. A masked face loomed over him with a sinister sneer.

"Yah! Let go of me!" Romano angrily wrenched his arm away, but of course his strength couldn't match the bigger man's. "Let... go!"

"It's our little Romano, eh? We've still got some things to settle. Now that you've lost your memory and don't remember me, and Spain isn't here to help you..." Romano attempted to kick the masked man, but only managed to kick at empty air.

"I've..." _Kick. _"... got nothing..." _Kick. _"... to settle with you!" Romano sent the man an angry glare. "You stupid bastard!"

His after words seemed to make the man even smugger than before. "There, there. Why don't we-" Romano butted his stomach with a small 'chigi!' sound, and, taken by surprise, the man fell back against the wall.

"Romano? Where are you?" He heard Liechtenstein's voice and her footsteps, drawing ever closer.

"L-Liechten- Ah!" The man had taken advantage of Romano's distraction to jump up and push him to the ground. Romano hit the ground hard, his head making a loud crack. He rubbed his head in pain, cracking open an eye to see that he had fallen back against Liechtenstein's shoes.

Liechtenstein reached down to help him up, and Romano quickly put an arm in front of her in defense. If it had been Spain, he wouldn't hesitate to push the tomato bastard into the fight in place of him (just because he knew Spain was stronger, and that was also something he'd never admit). But this was Liechtenstein, and from what he had seen of her, she wasn't very strong. He felt a strange urge to give her protection.

When Romano looked up into the masked face looming over him once more, he couldn't keep the words from escaping his mouth. "P-Princess Jasmine?" He blurted, wide amber eyes half amused and half frightened out of his wits.

The man chuckled. "Still calling me that, aren't you? No, I am the mighty Turkey!" With this, he lunged forward, and Romano instinctively stepped back.

"Ah, I see you've got yourself another ally this time. But if Spain was too cowardly to stand up to me, then this little girl shan't be much better." Turkey let out a booming laugh, and grabbed Romano easily. He watched, stunned, as Turkey placed a finger under Liechtenstein's chin and lifted her face up. Her wide emerald eyes stared back at him in terror, but he saw the little glint of defiance in it.

"You're Liechtenstein, aren't you? What is Switzerland doing letting you be with this weak coward?" He smirked, and then threw Liechtenstein to the ground dismissively. Romano winced and kicked Turkey's side, although it made little impact. "You're lucky you're a neutral country, and you've got your big brother, or else I wouldn't hesitate to take over you." He turned to sneer at Romano. "You, little Romano, are a different matter."

"L-Leave him alone!" Liechtenstein shouted.

A slight hint of relief for Liechtenstein settled in his stomach as the fear rose its way to the top. Turkey didn't turn around, and ignored Liechtenstein, instead focusing on Romano. "Come with me this way. I've got my horse, all ready for you." His voice was suddenly deeper and more mysterious, making Romano shudder.

"Let me go! I'm not going with you anywhere, you fucking bastard! Let me go now!" He struggled in Turkey's grip. Maybe if he could just slip out somehow and make a run for it... but then Liechtenstein would have to run too.

"Oh, that's exactly what I'm not planning to do." Turkey began to drag him away.

Bam!

"Let him go."

Romano stared.

Turkey dropped him in a reaction of surprise.

And Liechtenstein stepped forward, holding her shiny black gun, still smoking from the gunshot.

Romano briefly wondered where she had gotten such a gun.

Taking the opportunity, he quickly jumped to his feet and dodged Turkey to run over to Liechtenstein. He'd seen the slightest glint of doubt and fear in Turkey's eyes, hidden behind the mask, and he was going to take advantage of that.

Liechtenstein dropped her gun into the basket of food, grabbed Romano's hand, and ran out of the alley. Romano hardly had time to react to her swiftness. "Run!" She urged, and Romano ran, seeing that Turkey was starting to regain his determination.

"Run! Through the marketplace!" She was starting to yell now, and Romano felt a rush of exhilaration rush through his wildly beating heart. He overtook Liechtenstein and pulled her through the crowd of people.

"Make way! Make way!" He screamed, and the women and men clogging up the path all jumped to the side in surprise. A slow-moving Spaniard stepped on his feet.

"Make way, bastard!" Romano yelled, and then cursed 'son of a bitch' under his breath as he felt a throbbing pain in his toes.

"Miss Lilli! What's wrong?" A stall keeper called out to them, but they were both going too fast to reply. Liechtenstein's ribbon fluttered in the corner of Romano's vision.

"Hurry! If we're out of the marketplace, he'll never be able to find us." Romano squeezed his eyes shut, and butted his way through the last of the crowd. He could imagine Liechtenstein ducking her head as they sped through.

Even out of the marketplace, the two of them kept running. Romano held out his hand as a shield as he pulled Liechtenstein along. The green scenery slid past them and neither noticed as Romano's hand finally slammed the door open.

"Yah!" Spain yelped, ducking out of the way a little too late. Romano came tumbling into him, and Liechtenstein followed soon after.

"Whoa! What happened to you?" Spain sat up first, and chuckled at them.

Romano sent him a glare as he worked to become untangled with the fruits that were rolling out of Liechtenstein's basket. The gun suddenly plopped out, and Spain picked it up.

His eyes widened. "Is this yours, Romano? What were you doing out there?" He laughed nervously. "Did you run into Turkey or something?"

Liechtenstein recovered from the crash landing before Romano did, and pulled him out of the pile of fruits. And then they looked at each other, and burst out laughing in relief.

"You could say that, bastard." Romano plucked the gun out of Spain's hand, gave it back to Liechtenstein, and then piled the fruits back into her basket. Then he picked himself up and walked back to his room. He'd had enough excitement for one day. But the good thing was, he didn't see Liechtenstein as just a weak maid anymore. N-Not that it was going to change anything.

... He wondered where she'd gotten the gun, and why she had stood up for him.

* * *

**Why? Why? Liechtenstein couldn't be starting to like Romano, could she? xD Review, and thank you all!**


	6. Envy

**So... there isn't much to say about this chapter. I think the title pretty much speaks for itself.  
Enjoy 8)**

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**VI. Envy**

_The blonde girl scrambled up until she stood in front of the Italian boy._

_"No! Don't hit him!" Her arms sprang out protectively. The boy behind her cowered and gave a little whimper._

_"Step aside. I don't want to have to hurt you, too." The man facing them crossed his arms and looked down at a girl with a disapproving expression. Romano thought that could have been Austria, but his hair was too short and he seemed to be too young. Unless... this was a piece of his memory._

_No, it couldn't have been. As much as Romano wanted it to be, he just knew that it wasn't._

_"I- It isn't such a serious matter, master." Suddenly, Romano felt like he had hit a solid wall. That voice, that word... and the girl, they all seemed so familiar, like he had seen the girl before, heard her utter out that word before, and yet he'd never even met anybody that resembled her. He didn't even know her name._

_"M-Mi dispiace. I'm so very sorry, ve. I was just..." A small voice came from behind the girl, but the apology had little impact on the taller man, who seemed to indeed be their master._

_"You see?" He addressed the younger girl. "He steals food, a lot. And if he doesn't get taught a lesson, he'll never change. Of course, I'll have to do the same to his brother. He's the one that steals tomatoes. But first, I'll have to find that Romano..."_

_"He gets very hungry, master, and he prefers better food than the kind that you give us to eat. I know that's not right, but I doubt you can change anything. W-Without violence, I mean. A-And master, if you'll just give him one more-"_

_"One more chance? If that what you were going to say? No, I've given him many chances, even warned him of severe punishment, but he wouldn't listen to me. Now, step aside, please. You're usually so obedient and sensible, why stand up for him when you know he's wrong?" The man stepped forward and put out a hand to dismiss the young girl, but she kept her ground._

_"M-Master, I won't let you-"_

_"Wait! Stop!" Romano watched as the newcomer, a long-haired brunette woman, rushed into the room and put a hand on the man's shoulder, stopping him. "Please don't punish them. They're both very young, and... I have a feeling they'll learn their lesson after this. Please don't."_

_Slowly, the man turned around, and in his eyes was a stern look, but also a slight dash of forgiveness. A long silence dawned on them, until he spoke again. "Alright. You're forgiven, for now, but never do that again, understand?"_

_"J-Ja. Danke!" The blonde girl quickly bowed her head, held out her hand for the boy, and they both ran out of the room_

_The man set his tired eyes on the brunette woman. "Have you found Romano? He's left his chores undone and went away somewhere again."_

_"I haven't." A shake of the head. "But you must try to be less strict with them. They are young, after all, and they'll always stand up for each other no matter what. Even Romano."_

_"Romano?" The man fiddled with his glasses. "He doesn't seem as close to the other two."_

_"I think... maybe they're starting to develop feelings for each other, don't you? But I guess it's Romano's personality that keeps him away from the other two. His brother is always cheerful and hardworking, but he's so... different. Maybe that's why." The woman sighed. "But it's none of our business to talk about this, as much as I'd love to find out more."_

_"You're right." The man turned away from her and sat down on the couch, picking up a cup of wine and a few music sheets. "We shouldn't intervene. You know, Spain came over a few days ago and again, he wanted to have one of the Italians to work for him."_

_"Again? Haven't you already said no? You shouldn't separate the three of them, that's what I think."_

_"You're right." He said again, sipping the cup daintily. "You're always right."_

_"I think L-"_

_The dream was fading away._

_No! He was about to hear a name! The name that would make everything clear to him, show him if this was an alternate reality or his past. But no, everything was fading away._

The sun shone brightly into his face, and Romano woke up.

* * *

Once again, Romano offered to help Liechtenstein with the dishes after breakfast. He felt like he owed her for saving his life back in that dark alley.

But he wondered why she had done so. Any sensible nation would just leave him there and run away to save themself. Especially if it was him in danger. Who would jump in headfirst to save the nation with the sour personality who was too weak to save himself? It didn't make him feel any better that he had treated Liechtenstein so coldly before, and yet she still stood up for him. He wondered if she was still vying for his full acceptance of her.

No, no nation would want acceptance from him, save for Spain and his younger brother. But it was the only explanation he could think of. As he brought the dishes to her, he thought back to the many times that she had been so nice and understanding toward him. Could it be because she wanted him to accept her, to open up to her? No, impossible. It was probably because of obligation. The feeling that she had to be devoted, or at least act devoted to him, because it was part of her job as a maid. Yeah, that was it.

He scowled at himself in the soapy water. He had been stupid for ever thinking that it could have been anything else. Real life wasn't like in his dreams, when the pretty blonde girl with the braids had stood up for her friend because she really cared for him. And wait, even in his dreams, that hadn't been him she was standing up for. No, he had been the one that was left out. The third wheel, that was what he was feeling right then as he listened to Liechtenstein talk about his brother.

"... really nice. I really enjoy your brother's company, Master Romano. Oh, Veneziano is visiting today, too. He'll be here at about- H-Hey Romano, is there something wrong?" Liechtenstein looked up at him in concern.

Romano realized that he had been digging his nails into the sponge and scrubbing so hard that soap flung out everywhere. "I-I... I was scrubbing at this stain on the plate." He tried to cover up. "S-stupid stain, why won't you go away?" Romano sent her a shaky smile and returned to cursing at the stain and pretending like he was just being his normal self, but he suddenly wondered if it was too selfish to tell her all that he had been thinking. He could try to ask her why she hadn't run away from Turkey but had stayed to save him, but was that question too awkward? Or maybe he could just continue the facade and forget it like nothing had happened. He went with the latter.

"T-There, the stain's all gone." He set the plate out to dry, avoiding Liechtenstein's worried eyes.

"Romano, are you sure there's nothing wrong?" She said slowly. His behavior must have struck her as unusual.

"I'm fine, g-grazie." So far so good. "I was just wondering..." He suddenly blurted out, like he had no control over what he said anymore.

"Wondering what?"

_I'm such a dumb bastard. _"I-I was wondering about that incident with T-Turkey, you know." He said dumbly, stammering and flushing red.

"Oh, you... wonder where I got the gun?" Liechtenstein gave him a small smile. "I don't keep it with me to hurt anyone, don't worry. I don't really like keeping a gun with me, but big bruder insisted that I always need to have one in case something happened. I... I'm used to bringing it around, really, but I've never needed to use it until yesterday." She grabbed a towel and started drying the dishes, and Romano made a move to do the same. His finger grazed hers, and he felt a faint spark of electricity before snatching his hand away.

"I keep it beneath all the layers of my dress, so no one suspects me of having anything close to a gun." She laughed casually.

"Oh." Romano cursed at himself in his mind. Why wouldn't he shut up? "I was also wondering... why didn't you run away? Why did you stay to help me?" _Stupid, stupid mouth._

Her expression surprised him. "Well I..." Liechtenstein's green eyes looked confused. "Why would I not? After all, it's my job, as your maid."

"I'm not your responsibility. You don't have to look after me or anything." Romano snapped. He suddenly felt mad at himself. Her answer had confirmed to him that he was crazy for thinking that it could have been anything other than an obligation. She never really cared or anything. But why was he dwelling over that so much? He'd never even paid attention to the fact that the other nations thought he was a foul-mouthed coward, but toward Liechtenstein... he suddenly felt a longing for her to understand him, understand why he was acting so strangely, and maybe... even care about him. O-Only as a friend, of course.

Liechtenstein gave him a strange look. "It's not that I have to look after you. It's that I _want _to be there by your side and help you when needed." Liechtenstein said this as if it were the most obvious thing on Earth. And did Romano just catch the slightest blush in her cheeks, or was it his imagination?

He decided that he had eaten one too many pizzas and was starting to become delusional.

"When is Veneziano coming?" He asked her, changing the subject so that maybe he could forget everything that had been said. Forget his dumb questions, forget her innocent answers.

Liechtenstein looked at the old clock hanging on the wall. "He'll be here in an hour."

Romano made a small "humph" sound and returned to drying his dishes in silence.

After putting away the dishes, Liechtenstein followed Romano up the stairs. She went into her room, leaving him to go to his. Taking off her apron, she wondered why Romano had offered to help her when he really didn't seem so willing to wash the dishes. Their conversation hadn't gone as well as she had wished, either. She had sensed that he would ask that question, but for all her preparation, she couldn't come up with a decent answer. Sure, she did care about him, but she sensed that he had mistaken her care for an obligation, a duty she had to fulfill. Ja, it was her job to look after him and care for him –after all, that was why Spain had hired her. But even if it hadn't been just a job, she would have done the same for anybody.

But even more so for Romano, Liechtenstein realized. Ja, maybe she had what Switzerland called a 'soft spot' for him. From the first day that she had come to the mansion, a little more than a month ago, she'd felt a longing for him to accept her. She wanted him to let her in his thoughts, to confide in her, to open up to her. She had many friends, but Romano was different. She wanted to be accepted by him, more than she had ever wanted anything before. And so she tried.

She tried to do the subtle things to let him know that she was always open to him, that she was a friend to be trusted. When he kept pushing her away, she felt the desire to work even harder, to never stop. He treated her with disdain, while she respected him as her master. She had never once stopped trying.

Sometimes, she wondered why she needed his acceptance so badly. Why she kept doing everything she could to let him know that she cared. Maybe it was because Liechtenstein had a feeling, subtly, that Romano had never really been cared for, never really knew the true meaning of friendship, and she wanted to be the one to guide him in the right direction. But why?

That didn't matter now, she decided, retying her ribbon in her hair and then coming to the first floor to get the door for Veneziano. He had just rang.

_If Romano's happy, then I'm happy. Doesn't matter how he treats me. I just want him to feel... loved._

"Liechtenstein, ve!" Italy greeted her, leaving Germany's side to give her a giant bear hug.

She laughed. "Guten tag, Italy. How are you?"

"Great, ve! I brought some _Bocconotti_! Cream puffs! And could we make pasta again? I can teach you to paint some more, too! It was really fun last time! And-"

Germany jabbed the Italian, and Liechtenstein watched in amusement as Italy struggled to remember why he was visiting in the first place.

"Oh, where's _fratello_?" He asked, peering over her shoulder.

"Here."

Liechtenstein immediately recognized Romano's distinct grumbling. She moved to the side of the door to let Italy in, and then bowed her head to Germany. "Would you like to come in, too?"

Germany shook his head, looking like he wouldn't prefer anything less. "I'd rather not, thank you. The dummkopf has been bothering me to come here all morning, so I'll just leave him here, if that's alright with you. I've got plenty of paperwork to complete at home, and I don't think Romano would want me here, either. By the way, where is Spain?"

"He's gone out shopping for things to bring to Belgium." Liechtenstein suddenly noticed that Germany looked slightly more uncomfortable.

"I, erm, I'll just get going now, if you don't mind." He told her awkwardly, but his escape was made too late as Romano turned to the two of them.

"You, potato bastard, haven't I told you to get out of my sight forever?" He huffed, glaring indignantly with a wide eyed Italy by his side.

"If it makes you happier, I am just leaving." He calmly said, and then turned to Liechtenstein to bid her farewell in the same calm demeanor. But Romano wouldn't let him off the hook so easily.

"Get your big fat ass away from here." He retorted. Liechtenstein cringed at the harsh language.

"F-Fratello, if you don't mind me asking... what happened when Germany first visited you after the accident that made you so..."

"It's none of your business." Romano replied curtly, at the same time that Germany uttered "Mustache."

"It's not _mustache_, you bastard. It's moos-tache."

"W-Why don't we go inside, alright?" Liechtenstein stepped in between the two of them and hurriedly ushered the Italian indoors, while offending insults were thrown back and forth between Romano and Germany. Well, mostly Romano, seeing that Germany was only humoring him but mostly ignoring him.

The door shut behind her, and Liechtenstein gave a sigh of relief. She noticed that Romano was flushing bright red from irritation, but decided not to comment on that.

"Liechtenstein, ve, let's go paint!" Italy broke the silence and dumped his backpack on the ground. Out tumbled rolled-up canvases, various easels, and around a dozen paint brushes. Of course, there were many different paint colors and palettes, too.

"Ja!" She smiled and leaned down to collect all the painting equipment in her arms, and then followed Italy out to the tomato garden. He knew his way around Spain's house by heart now, and of course, Romano didn't need to be shown the directions.

Out in the garden, Romano complained about not wanting to be dragged into painting, but Liechtenstein and Italy managed to convince him to try just a bit. Italy set up the canvases so that the view of the garden and the bright scenery around it looked just right, and then they each took their position and started to paint.

Liechtenstein dipped her paintbrush in and started to the fill the canvas with strokes of paint. The garden was a very beautiful place, and it was hard to get the paint to work just right, but she had learned a lot from Italy, and it wasn't as hard as she had thought. Leaning back to admire her work about an hour later, Liechtenstein realized that it was better than she had expected. Her feet were cramped her arm hurt from swishing side to side for such a long period of time, but she was proud of the red tomatoes that peered out from the garden inside her canvas.

Stepping away from her stool, she wandered over toward Italy and leaned over beside his stool to look at the painting.

Her jaw dropped.

There was no other word to describe it other than... magnificent. Even though it was a much simpler version of the garden without many details, the coloring was perfect, the shading was just right, and it looked so... realistic. So beautiful.

"Do you like it, ve?" Italy turned to her, with a slightly worried look in his eyes.

"Ja! It's beautiful!" She exclaimed, dropping down to her knees to inspect the painting closer. "You're amazing!" She breathed, examining the drying paint and all the colors found on the canvas.

"Ve! I'm glad you like it." He sent her a cheery smile, and Liechtenstein beamed.

After chatting with Italy for about fifteen minutes about painting techniques and color mixing, Liechtenstein went back to her stool to try and fix up her own painting. She passed by Romano, who was sitting tensely, concentrating hard on the painting in front of him.

"R-Romano? Are you doing alright?"

"F-fine." He jumped, covering the canvas with his hands and stuttering profusely.

"Would you mind if I-"

"N-No! It's not as good as Veneziano's." Romano instantly stood up and held his arms over the painting. Liechtenstein thought she sensed a strange bitterness to his words. "It's not as good as Veneziano's, and I don't think you'd want to see it."

"I'm sure it's as good as Veneziano's." Liechtenstein assured him. "But if you'd rather I didn't see it, then-"

"No, w-wait! Here, you can see it." Seeming rather defeated, Romano dropped his arms and stood back to reveal his own painting to Liechtenstein.

"Romano! That's amazing!"

Looking at Romano's canvas was looking at the garden through a completely different perspective. While Italy's painting contained bright, cheery colors and a playful kind of painting technique, Romano's painting was more carefully drawn, and although he wasn't as skilled as Italy, Liechtenstein loved the painting, even more so than Veneziano's.

"Y-You really think so?"

"Ja!"

Romano's eyes lit up, and Liechtenstein could tell that he was trying hard to keep the scowl on his face. She knew that he –just like any other nation- loved being praised, and she loved to praise him, to see him look so happy.

* * *

After painting, lunch quickly rolled by, as the three of them ate right out in the tomato garden. When Liechtenstein had finished putting away the dishes, with both of the Italians' help, Veneziano insisted on a siesta. They decided to sleep in the garden, too. The grass was soft and the sun was shining, and it was perfect, after all.

But toward the afternoon, Romano seemed to be in a stormy mood. Liechtenstein noticed that as she and Veneziano baked pastries in the kitchen while he sat in a chair in the corner, watching with an unfathomable expression.

"Yummy!" Italy stuffed the cream puffs into his mouth, and held out one for Romano. "Want some, fratello?"

"No."

Liechtenstein's eyes darted over to him worriedly, but then Italy distracted her yet once again with a cupcake. "Hey Liechtenstein, we can decorate this one to look like your flag, ve!"

Her worries seemed to fade away to the back of her mind. "That's nice! Can I try?"

Italy held out the tube of frosting for her. Liechtenstein took it, and then proceeded to squeezing out the frosting on the cupcake. It didn't come out quite right, she noticed, when the frosting oozed to the side and slid down the side of the cupcake.

"Here, let me help you with that." Italy held his hands over hers and eased the tube in the right direction, and then quickly switching to a different color of frosting, and helping her finish the crown on the flag.

Liechtenstein heard a slight grumbling in the background, but she was having too much fun to notice it clearly.

"It's so pretty!" She beamed, admiring the way the flag balanced on the top of her cupcake. She turned to show it to Romano. "Would you like me to make one for you, Romano?"

"No." He turned away.

Liechtenstein wondered what she had said wrong.

The doorbell suddenly rang and Liechtenstein made a move toward the door. She opened it to see an exhausted Germany standing there.

"I need to bring Italy back, Liechtenstein. His boss wants him for something."

"Alright." She furried her brows at the short huffs of air Germany was taking; he must have been running, and called for Veneziano.

Italy bounced over with an exuberant expression. "Ciao, Germany! I had so much fun with my big brother and Liechtenstein today! We painted, and made cake, and..." His curl bounced along as he talked excitedly, eyes closed in a happy expression.

"Italy, I've got a headache, so quiet down, will ya?" Germany made a weak attempt to rub his temples.

"... and we had lots of fun! Can I visit them again soon?" Italy completely ignored what Germany had said and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Ja, ja. But for now, let's get back home. Your boss wants to see you."

"Addio, Liechtenstein! Oh Germany, I hope he isn't mad at me or anything..." Italy's voice trailed off as he waved to Liechtenstein and then ran to catch up to Germany.

Closing the door behind them, Liechtenstein returned to the kitchen to begin cleaning up. She halted by the door in surprise.

"Romano?"

"Si? You've got a problem? I'm helping you clean up." He said, not looking at her and continuing to wipe at the spills on the ground.

"R-Romano! I'll do that. You can just go rest and-"

"What? You think I can't help you like my brother can?" Something was obviously bothering Romano, but she couldn't figure out what. His mood had suddenly become sour.

"Y-You can help me, alright, but I thought you'd want to-"

"I may not be as good as him in many fields, like art and cooking, but at least I can clean up after myself." Romano said these words so quietly that she almost didn't catch them, but once she did... Liechtenstein wondered what had happened to bring upon such a strange and irrelevant subject.

"You're as good as your little brother, Romano." She said quietly, not knowing what else to say. Hesitantly, Liechtenstein descended on Romano and began to scrub the ground along with him.

"You really don't think that, do you? You're just saying it to make me feel better. I know that you have a lot more fun with him than you do with me." His tone was almost accusing, and Liechtenstein had to stop her scrubbing to look up at him.

"Wh-What?" What was Romano talking about? "I have fun with you, too." She protested, albeit too eagerly.

Romano didn't answer, and Liechtenstein wondered if she had been too direct. "Y-You-"

"No, screw this." Romano pushed himself off the ground and threw the cleaning rag into the sink. Liechtenstein caught the scowl on his face, and this time, he seemed genuinely upset. She made a move to put her hand on his shoulder and ask him what was wrong, but as soon as her fingers grazed his shirt, he flinched and slipped out from under her touch. Before she could comprehend his sudden movement, Romano was gone.

"R-Romano?" Liechtenstein took a step toward the door. Was it her fault? Had she done something to provoke his anger? If so...

"Romano? Please tell me what's wrong!" She rushed out the door and ascended the stairs two at time, and ran across the hallway until she arrived by his door. It slammed shut in her face.

"I-I'm sorry." She apologized, utterly confused as to what she had done. "Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry!"

The dead silence frightened Liechtenstein. She stood waiting by Romano's door for a minute, and then two, and then five, biting her lip and then eventually collapsing to the ground after ten minutes had passed. Was he mad at her? Had she been so caught away with Veneziano that she couldn't realize that Romano was... angry? But what she couldn't understand was the reason for his sudden outburst.

After 20 minutes spent outside Romano's door, Liechtenstein heard a click on the door. Spain was home. Jumping up to her feet, she flew down the stairs and into the kitchen, attempting to clean up the rest of the mess.

"Hola Liechtenstein! I'm back! How was your day with Romano and Veneziano?" Spain's cheery voice called out to her.

"Great. We had lots of fun." She answered him, her voice cracking on the last word. He didn't notice.


	7. The Bad Touch Encounter

**Chapter 7's here! It's not very long, but I wanted to emphasize more of Romano's growing feelings for Liechtenstein, so... this doesn't have as many actions as thoughts. But I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

**VI. The "Bad Touch" encounter**

Liechtenstein and Veneziano.

He'd finally figured it out.

Romano couldn't believe that he had been too fucking stupid to put the pieces together. But after having the siesta the day before with the two of them, he'd finally figured it out. Of course, his 'twin image' in the dreams had to be Veneziano. Who else could it be? And Liechtenstein... after he'd seen her smile so fondly at his little brother, he had come to realize that she was indeed the girl in his dreams. Her breathtaking smile... how could he forget about that? And the spark of determination in her eyes, the way she always praised them and smiled when they were happy... those were features that truly belonged to Liechtenstein, in his reality and his dream world. The braids... well, he didn't quite know what happened to those, but the blonde girl in his dreams and Liechtenstein were the same. He was sure of that.

Romano grumpily picked up a tomato from his bedside table and shoved it into his mouth. It was past breakfast time, and he was still lying in bed. Spain had called up to see what was wrong, and he had yelled a few curse words at the innocent Spaniard before hiding back behind his covers. He had wished that he could take back the words said to Liechtenstein, wished it so badly that he couldn't drag himself out of bed to apologize to her. He was ashamed of himself. Italy Romano was a shameful coward.

But then he had wondered if the former Romano –the one he had been before the stupid amnesia accident- would apologize if he was in his shoes. The former Romano, from what Spain had told him, always acted proud and selfish and like he was better than everyone else. But the new Romano –him- was beginning to get soft and lose that pride. But after thinking about that, he had to come back to the fact that Liechtenstein wasn't someone that would turn her back on him just because of his too- proud self. And that made her seem worthy to him, worthy for him to apologize to. And anyway... he was sure that she didn't know why he had suddenly gotten angry. Even he was trying to hide the real reasons from himself. He had been jealous, envious of the attention Veneziano received from Liechtenstein. Even when he wasn't around, she would talk to Romano about his younger brother in the fondest way. And so he tried to help her clean up, to show her that he was just as able as his brother, but he knew clearly that she'd never see him that way. She only thought of him as a master, someone for her to work for. She'd never think of him as a friend, or anything more.

But wait, he didn't care, right?

Grumbling to himself as he chomped harshly down on the last of the tomatoes, Romano admitted that maybe he did care. A hot blush covered his cheeks, and he scowled down at his covers. He knew that he had found Liechtenstein very pretty that first day he met her, and in his dreams he had even admitted that she was beautiful. And he did care about her, a-as a friend. After all she had done for him, how could he not? But that had to be the only reason. It couldn't be anything else. It couldn't be anything like l-l-l-lo-

"Hey Romano! Come down here! We've got guests!"

Momentarily distracted from his thoughts, Romano staggered out of bed slowly and pulled on his usual uniform. He had to get out of bed sooner or later, anyway, and this was a good chance for him to apologize. Maybe if they had guests, he could just apologize quickly and hope she'd forget all about it. That wouldn't be so embarrassing, then.

"Romano! Hurry!" Spain called up again.

"Alright, alright, bastard. I'm coming." He grumbled, slamming his bedroom door behind him and slipping down into Spain's living room.

"Don't step on that!" Suddenly, Spain was by his side, pushing him away from his path. Romano struggled out of his grip, and then realized that if he had taken another step, he would have trod on a neatly wrapped box, complete with a floppy bow.

"It's a present for Belgium." Spain chuckled, maneuvering Romano through the clustered living room toward the other nations. Romano recognized Veneziano and Liechtenstein piling some clothes inside a suitcase, while the other two nations were studying a series of photos.

"Romano, meet two thirds of the BTT." Spain grinned at him, and then gestured toward his two friends.

"Ah, bonjour Romano." The wavy haired nation sent him a suggestive wink.

Romano wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Ciao, bastard. I'm guessing you're France?"

"Oui. You still remember me, even after the accident?" A pleased tone crept into the Frenchman's voice.

"Of course not." Romano kicked a box out of the way and plopped down in a corner of the couch. "I just reckoned that you were France from that creepy smile of yours." He glared at the other one. "And you must be Prussia. I've heard other nations talk about you, the Bad Touch Trio."

"Kesesese! Ja! That would be us. And I am indeed the awesome Prussia!" The nation stepped away from the wide selection of photos and came over to Romano. His red eyes and cocky expression seemed to scream "Rapist alert!" Romano instantly tensed up.

"Ciao, fratello! Prussia brought me here." Veneziano looked up from his pile of clothes to grin cheekily at him, and then immediately turned back to Liechtenstein. Romano wondered what they were talking about so animatedly.

"Little bruder said that he wanted this guy out of the house. So I brought him. Kesesese!"

"I was really scared that Ludwig was mad at me, ve, for telling him that his sausages were _really _bad, but then he said that he only wanted peace and quiet to work, so we came here!" Another grin, wider this time, as Italy wrapped his arms around a wide-eyed Liechtenstein. "Prussia and big brother France were coming to help Spain finish packing, and I wanted to come and see you and Liechtenstein, so I tagged along!"

Prussia then ruffled Veneziano's hair fondly, and Romano frowned. Everyone favored his little brother over him. Romano slid down to the ground to help Spain instead, even though that was the last thing he wanted to do, just to prove that he didn't care.

"Liechtenstein is your maid, non?" France asked him suddenly, but he wasn't looking his direction. Instead, his eyes seemed to be set on a certain blonde nation. Liechtenstein didn't seem to notice as she was now helping Veneziano carry the box to the front door. When she did return, she even _smiled _at France like there was nothing wrong, and then plopped down on the ground to tape another box. Romano knew that she didn't suspect anything, but from that look of France's...

"Her eyes are up there, not all the way down there." He snapped, glaring at France, who was suddenly sitting too close to him and whispering French in a way that made Romano feel strangely unnerving.

"Oui. I was just checking out the girl. Don't tell me that you don't do so, too?"

Flushing bright red, Romano head-butted France, just as he would do to Spain. "I do not! I'm not a pervert, unlike you!"

"Maybe that's the reason why she's ignoring you, non?" At that moment, Liechtenstein walked past the two of them with a big stack of canned tomatoes. She avoided his eyes. Romano felt a strange sinking sensation in his stomach, but waved it away.

"She's not i-ignoring me. And i- if she was, I- I wouldn't care, you pervert!" He retorted, trying –unsuccessfully- to keep the stutter out of his voice so he wouldn't be recognized to be lying.

"Well, whatever. Maybe you don't care, but if that was me, I definitely would. You should never let a girl you love get away, especially when she's so pretty." At that, France jumped to his feet and chased after Liechtenstein. "Wait! Ma cherie! Let me help you with that!"

Romano fumed as he stared after France. He was following Liechtenstein, now carrying half of the stack for her and walking into the kitchen.

Something that France had said suddenly made Romano uncomfortable. The pervert was right. He should really apologize to Liechtenstein before she became any more angry with him. He knew it wasn't right to just yell at her and then expect her to be alright with it, but a part of him felt disappointed that she didn't even bother to ask him the reason why. He'd never tell, of course, but he had expected her to show the slightest bit of emotion. Instead, she'd simply ignored him. For some reason, it hurt, right over his chest.

"Hey, Romano, help me bring these outside, would ya?" Before he could protest, Spain dropped a heavy box into his arms and gestured toward the door. Scowling, Romano lugged the giant cardboard box out of the door and threw it in the trunk of Spain's car. Why did the bastard have to bring so many things? It was only a week in Belgium, after all.

Ducking out of Spain's way, he slinked back into the living room, and then decided to go find Liechtenstein. She should still be in the kitchen, as he hadn't seen her anywhere else. "Liechtenstein?" He called quietly, pushing the door open just a crack.

"Romano!" Her voice held so much relief in it that he wondered what was going on. Pushing the door wide open and letting himself in, he immediately realized what was happening.

France was standing beside the window, clutching Liechtenstein's hands. With his eyes closed, he was whispering something to her. Her eyes widened, and she gestured to him furiously.

France seemed to notice this. "Oh, Romano! I was just... getting to know Liechtenstein." He smiled and then leaned in toward her.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?" Romano strode forward, grabbing France's arm before he could come into contact with Liechtenstein. A little too late, he realized what his actions might seem like to the perverted France.

"I am getting to know her. That is how we do it in France."

"M-Mr. France? I would like to-" Liechtenstein started to struggle, but the French nations held tight.

"Oui, ma cherie?" He was leaning closer, closer.

"Stop that! Liechtenstein is mine!" Romano suddenly snapped, grabbing France and pulling him away harshly. Liechtenstein sent him a look of surprise, before disconnecting her gaze from his.

"What did you say?" France looked down at him, and Romano replied with a dark blush.

"L-Liechtenstein's m-my... my maid. So don't touch her, pervert!" _Damn you, Romano. Stop blushing! _

"Oh, I get it." France seemed to think that he had meant it in the lover's sense, and that made Romano even more flustered.

"N-No! I didn't mean it like that! I just..." He searched frantically for something to say. "Just... get out of my kitchen!" He shoved France toward the door, but then it suddenly burst open.

"Liechtenstein! Spain wants to see- Oof!" Romano gaped at the sight before him as Veneziano came running in at full speed, slammed into France and knocked him to the ground, and then tripped on the Frenchman's head, knocking Liechtenstein down as a result and finally slamming down himself. But instead of falling to the side, he collapsed right on top of Liechtenstein.

Romano squeezed his eyes shut and the opened them, hoping not to see what he was expecting to happen. But it was there, clear as day. When Veneziano had fallen, he had... slammed his lips right into Liechtenstein's.

The short silence that followed lasted a lifetime for Romano, but Veneziano finally managed to regain his senses and jump off. "I-I'm so sorry, Liechtenstein! I didn't mean to do that, but I was... and big brother France was right there, so I... ve..."

"I-It's alright." A flustered Liechtenstein climbed to her feet shakily and looked to the ground in embarrassment. Romano... felt a wave of jealousy spread through his veins, but he ignored it. He... He wasn't supposed to care, so he wouldn't. But it was hard to just stand by and watch as Liechtenstein made her way out, and then paused to bow her head at him.

"M-Master Romano... did you come for your tomatoes? I picked new ones from the garden this morning." She said this as if it was the only reason for him to be in the kitchen.

"Actually, I was going to apo- You know what, never mind." Romano flushed, and then stomped out of the kitchen. "It doesn't matter." He pushed past Liechtenstein, Italy, and France.

* * *

"Wait, Romano! I-"

His footsteps up the stairs were fading fast, and Liechtenstein knew it. She had done something to anger him again, although this time she knew what. It hadn't been her fault, but she still felt the strong urge to chase after him and apologize.

"Liechtenstein! Help me load the last boxes on!" Spain called, and she hurried to get herself together and go help Spain. Italy and France both followed her, and she talked with them like nothing was the matter. But she couldn't have felt worse.

* * *

Outside the kitchen window, Austria and England were watching the entire exchange.

"You see how he reacted? Soon, he'll have to confess to her and they'll form the treaty and everything will be just great!" England pumped a fist.

Austria wondered what else of America's had rubbed off on England. "I have a feeling that it won't be so easy. And this... isn't this stalking?"

"Oh, don't worry, my friend. It'll all turn out fine now, I'm sure of it."

"You think this is fine? They're all mad at each other." He squinted at the closed kitchen door, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of something.

"Oh, Austria, you've got to look below the surface. Why would Romano react that way if he didn't _care_?"

"If you say so." Austria grumbled slightly, and then stepped away from the bush they had been hiding behind. "Now if you'll excuse me... this... stalking has stolen much of my precious time with my music. So I shall see you later..."

"Oh, don't be so grumpy. It'll all work out perfectly, Austria. You'll see."


	8. Sweet dreams

**I've deleted my little note, because... my laptop's back! And to make up for the long wait, I've combined two chapters into one for you guys. So enjoy!**

* * *

**VIII. Sweet dreams**

"Liechtenstein?" Romano looked up from his pizza. Luckily, Veneziano and the Bad Touch Trio had all gone. Even Spain had gotten on his flight already, and now he was at home with Liechtenstein, eating the most uncomfortable dinner he'd ever had.

"Ja?"

"I... did I upset you this afternoon?" He asked quietly, forcing the words out of his mouth.

"... No." She replied curtly, causing Romano to drop his eyes down to his plate of pizza glumly. She had said no, but she clearly meant otherwise. And Liechtenstein had never gotten mad at him before. He must have been quite a jerk.

_But it wasn't my fault. It was... it was France's fault. Not mine. _

_I was only trying to protect her from him..._

For the next few days, Liechtenstein didn't speak to him. She passed him in the hallways and met him during dinner, but she never started a conversation unless he asked her something first. And he didn't have the courage to say something meaningful. But at least he tried...

"Liechtenstein?"

"Ja?" She was cleaning his bedroom window.

"..." He couldn't find the words to apologize to her, and instead just scowled down at the ground. But when she was about to leave for the market, he had a sudden fear of her leaving and never coming back. He couldn't say why it bothered him so much, but... he couldn't let her leave like that.

"Wait! Liechtenstein! I mean... I... I'm sorry!" He blurted, expecting her to forgive him just like the many times that he had had to apologize before. Expecting her to return to her kind, happy self.

"I forgive you." She told him and left. He knew she didn't mean it.

* * *

It bothered him as he fell asleep the fourth night, wondering why she was so cold and ignorant of him. He'd tried to apologize, hadn't he? He'd tried to make it up to her by helping around the house, but she wouldn't let him. He didn't know what to do to make her ease up, and at that point, he'd try anything. Only... he hated his pride for not letting him do so, and encouraging him to just remain his moody and foul self.

Romano dreamed that night.

"_We'll run away together. We'll have our freedom." _The blonde girl that he now identified as Liechtenstein put a hand on Veneziano's shoulder. _"We'll sign the pact of peace, and we'll live happily forever."_

_"Si! It's not that I don't like Mr. Austria," _Veneziano looked thoughtful. _"But I really want... freedom."_

_"I just wanna get away from that bastard." _He, the other Romano, complained.

Suddenly, the visions in his sleep blurred and then cleared up to show him a completely different sight, which he'd never experienced happening before. But something about this one seemed different.

He and his brother were facing Liechtenstein and her brother, each clutching a flag. A battlefield stretched out before them, and behind each nation was a thick line of soldiers. But what scared him the most were her eyes.

Liechtenstein's eyes, usually a gentle emerald and slightly glittering, were cold and hard, just like her brother's. But behind the grim set of her lips and her indifferent expression, he could see the tiniest bit of pain in her eyes. She wore a green uniform identical to her brother's, and looked at him –the other him- and Veneziano with cold eyes. Her ribbon was gone.

Switzerland beckoned for the soldiers behind him to raise their guns, and he drew Liechtenstein closer to his side. She obeyed, but kept her intense gaze on him and his brother. Mostly him. Her stance was battle-like, all tensed up with clenched fists, but she didn't seem very willing to fight. Unlike her brother.

"_Fratello? We shouldn't fight Liechtenstein. It's not right. And besides, don't you agree that surrender is the best option? Especially now."_

The other him remained silent. He looked different, too. Not scowling like his usual self, but completely the opposite. The other Romano was wide-eyed, and his hands were shaking around the gun that he clutched. But although his demeanor came off as scared and cowardly, he was looking straight at Liechtenstein. His dark green eyes seemed to be pleading to her.

With an almost unrecognizable gesture, Switzerland signaled to his army, and stood aside as the wave of soldiers lunged forward with a battle yell. The Italians fought back, but they were undeniably loosing. Romano stared in horror as an Italian soldier suddenly dodged away from the battlefield and came toward Liechtenstein.

"_This is for my country. You've hurt my beloved nation, and you'll pay for this."_

Surprisingly, Liechtenstein didn't try to defend herself. She didn't call out to Switzerland, who was fending off a couple soldiers a few yards away. Instead, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them a second later, Romano could see the pain clearly. The suffering she'd had to go through.

"_Fine. Kill me off."_

_"I'd be glad to." _He couldn't believe that someone from his own country could have been so merciless as to kill Liechtenstein. He knew whatever she had done... it wasn't worth for her to be killed off.

Liechtenstein stood still, smiling a bitter smile and glancing at him and his brother, fighting with the soldiers a good way ahead of her. At the last second, the other Romano turned to look at her, and his eyes widened, his jaw falling open. Not wasting a second, he kicked aside a soldier furiously and pushed through the battlefield toward her.

The sword raised, and then plunged into Liechtenstein's chest. Not wearing any armor, because she wasn't supposed to be fighting at all, the sword easily lodged into her flesh and blood, and Liechtenstein fell to her knees.

He reached her a little bit too late.

* * *

"Fuck! This is screwed up!" Romano cursed. The wild thrashing that had followed Liechtenstein's supposed death had caused him to roll off his bed and land on the floor, his head butting into the bedside table and creating a big bruise. Shaky with fear, he climbed back onto the bed and pulled to covers up to his chin. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face, and his hands squeezed the covers until his knuckles turned white.

What the hell had he just dreamed of? The three of them were supposed to be making a deal of peace. Instead... Liechtenstein had died. He, someone of his army, had killed her. Mercilessly.

Suddenly, the door slammed open against the wall, so hard that Romano was afraid that his door would fall off its hinges. A flustered Liechtenstein burst in, her hands against the door and breathing hard. Her wide green eyes searched his.

"Romano! Are you alright?" She asked, a tone of panic and worry creeping into her voice.

Romano gaped at her, wondering how she had managed to guess that he had had a nightmare. Pushing away his amazement, he took on the sarcastic and indifferent tone instead. He wondered how she'd like to get a taste of her own medicine. "Si! Of course I'm fine." He protested to her, his wildly beating heart slowing to its normal pace.

For some stupid reason, he chose that moment to look at her. Her flushed cheeks and tousled hair suddenly made him feel strangely flustered, and his stomach was flip-flopping in a very uncomfortable way. He turned away from her, scowling. "Why are you here, anyway?" He demanded.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Liechtenstein bow her head. The polite act again. How could she suddenly be so caring and polite when she had given him the cold shoulder for weeks? Surely she couldn't be really worried about him.

He admitted to himself that although they had –almost- become friends, he had never allowed her to get any closer, to break the wall between them, and so she was still wary of him. She still respected him like he was her master. She was so humble, that sometimes he wondered how she really acted around her friends. Was he that intimidating to her? He had never wanted to be a master, much less her master. He loved being superior to others, but toward Liechtenstein... her vulnerability made him feel like the worse of monsters whenever she called him master and did everything for him. He just really wanted to become... her friend, but had been relying on her to make the first move. And really, it was his fault that she had stopped trying. And here she was, still caring for him and respecting him even though he had treated her like shit. And he could only act like his grumpy self.

"So? Why the hell are you here?" He demanded sharply, seeing her flinch back. For some reason –was it pride or fear?- he couldn't tell her that he was grateful because she had come, and that he appreciated her still caring for him, and he enjoyed her company even when they couldn't keep a decent conversation.

He hated being such a coward.

"I-I'm sorry. I just... I was coming to your room when I heard you fall down and crash against the table, so I got worried, and I-"

"Why were you coming to my room?" He asked her suddenly.

"N-Never mind. It's nothing. I... I'm sorry to disturb you, Master Romano. Good night." She said quietly, turning away and started to leave. Romano hated times like these, when he messed up and her wall of defense would instantly go up. It had been happening a lot over the past week, and he was sick of it.

"Hey! Wait!" Romano panicked for a second. He didn't want her to act that way toward him anymore. He was sick of it all. But when she did turn back to him, he didn't know what to say to her. "I... I want to know. Why were you coming in here?"

Liechtenstein blushed slightly. "It's not a very good reason." She said quietly.

"Just say why."

"I... had a nightmare." She confessed.

"But then why did you come here?" He was genuinely confused. Spain had plenty nightmares, mostly of disappearing tomatoes and angry Belgiums, but he never went into his bedroom like that.

"Es tut mir leid." She blushed even brighter. "I'm sorry, but I was kinda thinking that..."

"Huh?" Completely oblivious, Romano gaped at her.

"Well... I was wondering if I could... sleep with you." At this, Romano turned as red as a tomato, but Liechtenstein obviously had no clue what those words could really mean. "I mean, kinda like I do with big bruder when I'm scared at night."

Her big eyes bored into his, and he realized how truly terrified she looked.

Without waiting for an answer, Liechtenstein turned to the door once more. But then, completely surprising himself, Romano called her back.

"You can."

"Huh?"

"You can stay in here." He repeated, not looking at her in order to hide the growing blush. "Only tonight, though."

"I... really?" She turned her 'deer in the headlights' gaze at him, and then her lips curved into a bright smile. "Danke!"

Liechtenstein came over to him and scrambled into his bed. Fortunately, Spain had gotten him a large one, so there was plenty of room for him to make between him and her. Except... Liechtenstein suddenly felt so warm, and... she was alive. Unlike his own nightmare.

"I..." _Say something Romano. Stop having stupid thoughts, damn it!_

"You're just like Veneziano." He accused her. "Spain told me that he always slept with either me or Germany, especially when he has nightmares."

She laughed gently. Hearing her laugh after so many days of a cold treatment instantly thawed his sullen expression. Her cheery giggle was just like the one of the Liechtenstein in his dreams. "And sometimes you're really grumpy, just like big bruder. But does it matter?"

"... No."

"That's good, then." Suddenly, he felt a hand clutch his pajamas sleeve. "Romano? I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." The words left her mouth in a rush, as if she was afraid that if she didn't say them right away, they would disappear.

"Hey... don't be sorry. It was me that got mad at you, right?" He grumpily pointed out. He hated her always feeling that it was her fault.

"Well... I still shouldn't have been so cold. I knew you were trying to apologize, but I just..." She avoided his eyes, burying her face into a pillow instead.

"Si, I know." He told her, and then turned to face the ceiling. His green eyes were glued up there, as to ignore hers and chase away his furious heartbeat. The silence quickly dawned on them, since neither knew what to say. Romano busied himself with scowling at the ceiling.

"Buonanotte," He finally gathered the courage to say, but she was already fast asleep.

Letting out a long breath he didn't know he had been holding, Romano flipped to his other side, away from Liechtenstein. He'd just pretend like... she wasn't there. But no, that wouldn't work so well. He suddenly felt haunted with the fear of Liechtenstein dying, Liechtenstein being taken away when he had fallen asleep. Damn that stupid dream. Mumbling incomprehensible words to himself, Romano decided to turn over to face Liechtenstein, just to make sure that... she wasn't going anywhere.

He reached over to turn off the lamp on the edge of his table, and then plopped back against the pillow, squeezing his eyes shut. After a few seconds, they opened on their own will.

Romano didn't think that he was going to get any sleep that night.

Sighing once more, he began to study Liechtenstein's sleeping figure. When she wasn't awake and smiling at him like usual, she looked so much smaller. Her eyebrows were slightly creased, and her lips rested in a thin line. Her pale hands clutched the covers, which moved up and down along with the movements of her breathing.

Romano felt something like... resentment for himself and all the things he hadn't done for her. Now looking at her completely innocent and naive sleeping form, he couldn't help but admire the fact that she looked so... pretty. He wondered how he hadn't realized that she was the blonde girl in his dreams all along. Her gentle, porcelain face and her bobbed blonde hair should it proved it to him. But really, he'd never actually looked at her up close like that...

With the moonbeam shining in through the open window, Romano could see her lips move slightly, and then close again. She thrashed under the covers, and suddenly, a hand grabbed his and held it in place.

Romano's green eyes widened in surprise, and his cheeks soon turned a deep shade of red.

"L-Liech..."

She suddenly wrenched her hand away from his. Acting on instinct, Romano reached out to grasp her hand tightly in his.

This was wrong. So, very wrong.

Romano could care less. She wasn't even awake. And tomorrow, he'd deny everything that had happened. Even to himself. And anyway, there was no chance that she even felt a little bit more than friendship for him. His brother had always been the one with all the girls, never him. He was constantly reminded of that fact whenever he looked into a picture and found Veneziano happily hugging a girl, and him fuming in a corner.

Although, he couldn't deny the sudden tingling sensation he felt at the tips of his fingers, which just slightly grazed hers.

Liechtenstein shifted, and Romano instantly jerked back, his cheeks brightening. He was sure now that he wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

Liechtenstein stretched up on her toes, trying to reach the higher cupboards. Her fingers just grazed the handle, but she wasn't tall enough to open it all the way.

"Nein... I need to get the biscotti for brunch." Her eyebrows creased slightly as she frowned at the counter. She'd have to climb on it if she wanted to open the cupboard. Tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, she put both hands on the counter and heaved herself up, keeping one hand steady on the counter and the other one slowly reaching for the cupboard handle.

"L-Liechtenstein, what are you doing?"

Romano's voice startled Liechtenstein, and she whirled around quickly. "Oh, Guten Morgen, Romano!" She grinned sheepishly. "I was just... trying to get the biscotti."

"Oh." Liechtenstein watched as Romano let out an uncharacteristic chuckle. He seemed to be in a good mood that day. "Let me get that for you."

A tanned arm reached over her shoulder and easily opened the cupboard door, pulling out the container of biscotti. He brought it over to the table, and... smiled at her as she walked over, before taking the two cups of coffee that she had made and bringing those to the table, also. Liechtenstein followed with the plate of defrosted pizza from the microwave.

She took a seat across from him, beaming a sunny smile. It had been a long time since she'd even talked to Romano, and seeing him so happy... It brought a smile to her face. "What would you like to do today, Master Romano?"

Liechtenstein thought she saw him grimace briefly behind his cup of coffee, but the grin quickly returned. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Ja. But the mansion is pretty much spotless, because Spain isn't home. After I finish cleaning up the kitchen and the bedrooms, do the laundry, and then tend the garden, we can do something together." She looked at Romano. "Is that alright?"

"Si." He dipped a piece of biscotti into his coffee and chomped down on it. "I can help you with the cleaning, you know. And then... we can call Veneziano over."

Liechtenstein screamed to herself inside. It was so good to see that Romano had eased up on Veneziano, and was willing to spend time with his brother. He was really beginning to open up to her too, she thought, like when he had let her stay with him last night. It was really nice of him, and... he reminded her a bit of her own brother. Maybe cool and a bit of a bad guy on the outside, but really sweet on the inside. Like... that kind of bitter Swiss chocolate she loved to eat. "That'd be nice. Veneziano's really fun." She complimented. Noticing Romano's slightly sullen look post compliment, she decided to add, "And I really like spending time with you, too."

A slight blush spread over Romano's cheeks, and Liechtenstein couldn't help the giggles that escaped her lips. "You look really nice when you smile, Romano. You should do it more."

The blush grew darker. "Grazie." He mumbled, shoving biscotti into his mouth.

* * *

After breakfast, Liechtenstein carried a mop and bucket of water into the living room. Romano had offered to wash the dishes, and even though she'd almost refused to let him, it was nice to have someone help for a change.

Humming to herself, she dunked the mop into the bucket and then started cleaning a corner of the living room. Her mind wandered to her brother; she wondered what he was doing at the moment. She'd have to visit him soon, and see how he was getting on. Her beloved Switzerland.

Coming to work for Spain had actually been a wise choice, if she said so herself. She admired the Spaniard because of his ever sunny smiles and cheery attitude, and the way he treated her around the house. And she simply adored Veneziano. She loved the way he looked at everything with such a pure and curious attitude, and his hyperactive self, although he was never too loud or annoying. And of course, she enjoyed spending time with Romano. She didn't mind all the little things that had happened before, because she was simply grateful that he was actually starting to open up. Maybe... one day she'd open communications between her own little country and Italy.

Liechtenstein couldn't resist a little laugh at that. What would her brother ever say, if he found that she was thinking that way? He himself wasn't fond of the Italians, and she knew that he'd try to keep her away from returning there when she visited him. But she wouldn't be able to stay away. The Italian brothers were her friends now. Close friends, in fact.

"Huh? What's this?" The edge of her mop grazed a photo album lying under the sofa. Spain must have dropped it when he was packing. Leaning her mop against the wall, Liechtenstein kneeled down to study the album.

The first page revealed a large photo of Spain with his arms around Romano and smiling cheerfully, while Romano himself was sticking out his tongue. A slice of pizza was clutched in his hands. This must have been from before the memory loss.

She flipped from page to page and reveled in photos of Romano, from before the accident and even dating back all the way to when he had been a little kid.

A sudden picture caught her eye. There was Romano, wearing a green dress with an apron tied around his waist. He seemed to be punching Spain, and a concerned looking Austria stood in the doorway, watching them. The photographer's finger was blocking a bit of the photo, but when she looked closer, there was a little girl, peeking out of the door beside Austria. She had long, blonde braids and wide green eyes.

Could that have been... her? Liechtenstein clearly remembered her period of working for Austria, and she even remembered cleaning alongside Italy Veneziano for a couple of days before he left and reappeared a couple years later with Germany. She recalled Italy telling her that he had an older brother, but she had never met Romano until Spain hired her to work for him.

Jumping to her feet, Liechtenstein grabbed the photo album and raced through the mansion into Spain's tomato garden. Romano was picking the ripe tomatoes from the tree, and he looked up when she rushed over.

"R-Romano! Look at this!" She shoved the open album into his hands.

"Oh. The tomato bastard showed me these pictures before. What's wrong?"

Liechtenstein jabbed her finger at the little blonde girl. "Look at her. Do you recognize her?"

From the widening of his eyes, she knew that he did. "Th-This is you..."

"You remember me? You remember working for Austria from so long ago? Is your memory returning?"

"No." He frowned. "I don't remember anything. I know that Spain mentioned me working for Austria, but he never said that you worked there, too. I... kinda know you from somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?" Now she was entirely curious as to what he had to say. Was she the one starting to lose her memory? She couldn't remember ever meeting Romano at Austria's place. Unless...

"Well I..."

"Please, tell me." She urged him. "It might be something important." She was starting to wonder if he really was regaining his memory, or if he was having those dreams, like her. Except he'd never been in any of her dreams. Only Veneziano.

"Huh?" Romano looked at her, his lips pursed slightly in suspicion. "What dreams are you talking about?"

Oh. She'd probably been talking outloud. But... she thought he might as well know this. "I've been having strange dreams about my time back at Austria's house. Except... the dreams show things that have never happened. Veneziano was only there with me for a few days, yet in the dreams, he seemed to have stayed with me forever. And sometimes I even thought I saw you, but that would be illogical, because you went away with Spain before I even arrived, and I-" Suddenly, her eyes grew big in realization. "I don't think the dreams were about my past, actually. I kinda think that they're about..."

"An alternate universe, maybe?" Romano spoke up, and she looked to him in surprise.

"How did you-"

"I've been having those stupid dreams, too." He admitted with a sigh, chomping into the tomato he still held in his palm. "I thought that they showed me my past, but because Spain never mentioned you working for Austria, at least at the same time that I did... I don't think the dreams are about our past and stuff." A slight blush colored his cheeks and he looked thoughtful, but she didn't ask why. She was starting to become more and more confused and slightly scared.

"I wonder if fratello is having the same dreams." Romano suddenly said, looking down into the picture. "I know that if I really did work for Austria, I didn't work there the same time as you, so the dreams can't be about my past. But an alternate universe..." He frowned. "This is confusing as shit."

"Oh, Romano! You know that nightmare I had last night?"

He nodded slightly, turning his green eyes to her. The green seemed to dig deep into her thoughts, and she shifted uncomfortably, although... it wasn't necessarily a bad kind of uncomfortable. "Well, I dreamed that I... was in a battle. With my brother, and you and Veneziano. And I... was killed."

His eye started twitching slightly. "You- killed... I... What the fuck is this? Why are we having the same dreams and stuff?"

She flinched slightly at his curses, but quickly put them out of her mind. "You mean, you had that nightmare too? That was why I heard you yesterday night..." Liechtenstein trailed off, wondering what this meant for the both of them.

There was a long silence before Romano spoke again. "Spain's gonna return in a few days, and I'll ask that bastard about this."

"We can always ask Mr. England. He's good at this kind of stuff, except I think he has a few imaginary friends." She frowned down at the photo album. If Switzerland found out that she was having such strange dreams, he'd ban her from ever seeing the Italians and Spain again, that was for sure. And were the dreams supposed to mean, anyway? She'd always thought that they were a part of her past just replaying in her head because she was finally getting to know Romano and Veneziano, but apparently that wasn't so.

"Hey, don't look so worried." Romano's tone was indignant, but there was a spark of care in his eyes. She allowed herself to give him a little smile.

"I'm not worried, just... scared. What if this is something bigger than we think?" She tugged the photo album away from his hands and sat down on the grass, hugging the thick book to her chest.

"Fuck the dreams." Romano told her, adding a forceful smile to his cussing to reassure her. He sat down beside her, with the tomato basket in the middle of them. "We'll ask Spain when he gets back, so there's no point in worrying about them anymore."

"Ja... You're right." She took a tomato out of the basket and tried chomping on it just like Romano usually does, figuring that it would calm her down a bit. A strange taste overflowed her mouth... It was so unlike the tomatoes that she usually cooked.

"Do you like it?" Romano looked concerned.

"Ja!" Although the taste was strange, she thought it was rather strange in a good way. And it'd done its share in making her forget, at least for a little while. Chomping down on tomato after tomato in silence along with Romano, Liechtenstein began to feel slightly drowsy. Especially with the sun shining over her and the slightest breeze playing with her hair.

"You know, Romano, I think I'll ask Spain to let me spend the winter with my bruder. I want to arrive in Switzerland before the snow starts coming down. It can get really snow-blocked around the Alps area."

Romano glanced at her, his lazy expression changing considerably into something that almost looked like worry. "You'll leave? But you'll return, right? I mean, not that I need you to return or anything." He scowled back at his tomato, and instantly returned to the Romano she was used to, and completely adored.

"I should be getting back to my bruder, but only for the winter months. And then I'll return." She smiled at him, completely oblivious to the growing blush on his cheeks. "It will be hard to stay away, and I don't want to, anyway. I really do enjoy staying here and working for you and Spain."

"You're not just working here. You're our guest. At least, that's what Spain says."

"I guess. But I'd like to help you and him, no matter what. It'll be great to support you until your memory's completely back again." Suddenly, she surprised him with a little hug around his waist. "Danke."

"Huh? D-Don't hug me like that! What if someone's looking?" He quickly untangled himself from her grasp, looking more than a bit red in the face. "A-And why thank you? What did I do?"

She giggled. "It's everything you've done, really. And whatever these dreams turn out to be... I think it'll all be alright." Liechtenstein watched as Romano visibly relaxed and muttered a slight "Right." The quiet peace of noon really was making her drowsy, and without thinking anything much of it, she leaned her head against his shoulder. She could feel him tensing up, but he quickly relaxed from that, too. Romano was just like her big bruder...

With a small sigh, Liechtenstein closed her eyes, taking a little –what was it?- 'siesta'. She was going to revel in the peace as much as she could, because like all moments of peace... they would always shatter.

* * *

**I feel like WSHB is really starting to go somewhere now! I'm really ecstatic for the later chapters, because I have a feeling that they're gonna be epic ^_^ And as for this chapter... Romano and Liechtenstein pretty much wrote themselves, really. As you can tell (or not) Romano's feelings for her are budding, and Liechtenstein... well, she's kinda oblivious to that at the moment. But we'll see how that turns out.**


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